

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 

















SUPREMACY OF THE 
HEART LIFE 

A Plea for the Regnancy of Love 


BY 

W. T. MOORE, LL.D. 

AUTHOR OF “ PREACHER PROBLEMS ETC., BTC. 



New York 

Fleming H. 

London 


Chicago 


Toronto 


Revell Company 

Edinburgh 


v\ 


AND 


Copyright, 1908, by 



FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY 


IjUffARVofCONGRESS 


IwoOooics rtec«)*e< 


S£P 26 )yOb 



New York: 158 Fifth Avenue 
Chicago: 80 Wabash Avenue 
Toronto: 25 Richmond Street, W. 
London: 21 Paternoster Square 
Edinburgh: 100 Princes Street 


DEDICATION 


To my distinguished and steadfast friend, 

Dr. J. H. Garrison, 

Editor of the Christian Evangelist, with whom, on two 
continents, I have been most intimately associated in 
word and work, and who, through many years, has 
been a worthy companion in the advocacy of Good, 
Right, and Truth, is this volume affectionately dedi- 
cated by The Author. 


J 



CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Introductory . . . 7 

I The Problem Stated .... 29 

II The Personal Element in Evil . . 61 

III The Solution Proposed ... 91 

IV The Problem in History . . . 133 

V The Mission of Christ as Related to 

the Problem . . . . . 177 

VI Help in Overcoming .... 261 

VII The Final Victory .... 283 















INTRODUCTORY 


I 


If wrong our hearts, our heads are right in vain. — Young. 

With the heart man believeth unto righteousness. — Paul. 

What is the meaning of it all? 

Has work no purpose for the soul? 

Is life a failure on the whole 
And makes no answer when we call? 

I cannot thus interpret life, 

It has a meaning great and good; 

Though it may not be understood, 

True life develops through the strife. 

— W. T. M. 

Sin, then, is not a means to good. It is not “ good in the 
making.” The fall is not a “ fall upward.” — Lyman Abbott. 


INTRODUCTORY 


The following pages are the result of a reverent 
study of religion in the light of the facts of history. 
The study is not intended to be exhaustive. The sub- 
ject is almost infinite in its scope, and, therefore, no 
attempt is made, with the limited space at command, 
to do more than touch some of the mountain peaks 
along the course of human progress. Even these 
mountain peaks are often treated with scant recogni- 
tion in view of their importance, since the author’s 
aim has steadily been to avoid, as much as possible, 
what seemed to him to be comparatively unimportant 
details, and consequently he has dealt with those things 
only that are necessary to a clear understanding of 
the general trend of history, coming down from the 
“ beginning ” to the present time. 

The road, by which this history makes its way, 
goes straight through a continuous battlefield, in 
which every inch of the ground is contested by oppos- 
ing forces — the good on one side, the evil on the 
other — and out of this struggle' for the mastery the 
whole of human progress has come. But this prog- 
ress by friction is not the normal law of life. It indi- 
cates rather that there has been a lapse, or an over- 
throw, somewhere at some time in the universe, and 
that this friction is the result of a struggle which this 
overthrow precipitated. It is an effort to put things 
right again, but this effort is stubbornly resisted by 
all the powers of evil. In the chapters which follow 
the attempt is made to show that this earth, in its 


8 


INTRODUCTORY 


history, answers all the conditions of the mighty con- 
flict, a conflict in which man is the prize at stake, 
and already many of the race, through the snare of 
the devil, have been taken captive at his will. 

In this conflict the Head and Heart have generally 
been opposed to each other. But while this is true, 
it is equally true that the whole trend of human de- 
velopment has been toward a definite goal — a time 
when the predominance of evil would be overcome, 
and the head and heart again be co-ordinated in a 
life where the spiritual nature should occupy the high 
position which it held supremely before the tragedy 
in Eden. This is really the problem of problems. In 
the discussion of this problem, it has been necessary 
to consider the relation between good and evil, and 
this was not possible without a brief reference to the 
origin of evil and its influence upon the history of 
mankind. Incidentally, it was necessary also to show 
how the Bible itself, and especially the Old Testament, 
was affected by the struggle between good and evil 
in the affairs of the present life. 

It is certainly a very striking fact that while man 
is the centre of the struggle and the prize at stake, 
he himself is made the instrument through which the 
opposing forces do their work. Christianity itself, 
though the religion in which the head and heart are 
co-ordinated and harmonised, and in which man’s 
spiritual nature regains its lost position, is intensely 
aggressive. It carries on the warfare against evil 
with relentless energy. To use the language of James 
Russell Lowell, it “ has never been concession, never 
peace; it is continual aggression; one province of 
wrong conquered, its pioneers are already in the heart 
of another. The milestones of its onward march down 
the ages have not been monuments of material power. 


INTRODUCTORY 


9 

but the blackened stakes of martyrs, trophies of in- 
dividual fidelity to conviction; for it is the only reli- 
gion which is superior to all endowment, to all au- 
thority — which has a bishopric and a cathedral when- 
ever a single human soul has surrendered itself to 
God.” 

In this very aggressiveness lies the hope of final 
victory. Evil will never surrender while there is the 
slightest hope of its triumph. But the aggressiveness 
of Christianity is of a remarkable kind. While its 
road to victory is through a battlefield, it nevertheless 
makes friends of all its conquered enemies. Its legions 
are recruited from the very people who have been 
made subjects of its sway. The conquering Christ is 
still the prince of peace. Christianity is the Pleroma 
of all religions, and Christ is the universal Man. 

But Christianity itself was preceded by a condition 
of Judaism which made the rapid spread of the former 
a possibility. Indeed, there is nothing more remark- 
able in history than the fact that, as soon as the Jewish 
people had performed their proper function as a sepa- 
rate and a distinct nation, they were scattered through- 
out the whole Roman Empire, and in this way they 
became a definite force in the preparation of the world 
for the reception of Christianity. The Diaspora , 
which may have been a misfortune to the Jews, and 
certainly was from a national point of view, was, 
nevertheless, a blessing to the world. The best esti- 1 
mates we have of the population of the Roman Em- 
pire under Augustus fixes the number at fifty-four 
millions, and at this period the Jewish population of 
the empire was about four and a half millions, or 
something like seven per cent, of the whole population. 
These Jews were scattered throughout the whole em- 
pire, though they were more numerous perhaps in 


10 


INTRODUCTORY 


Egypt and Syria than in any other portions of the 
empire. Nevertheless, they could be found in consid- 
erable numbers in Asia Minor, Greece, Cyrene, Italy, 
Gaul, Spain, and doubtless in several other countries. 

Now, when it is remembered that these Jews were 
extremely zealous, and that they became missionaries 
everywhere in actively propagating their religion, and 
as that religion consisted mainly in a strong plea for 
Monotheism as against the Polytheism of the Gentiles, 
it is easy to understand how Judaism, as it was spread 
throughout the Roman Empire, soon became a power- 
ful propaganda in favour of the final triumph of 
Christianity over heathenism. It is true that the first 
contest which Christianity had was with this very 
Judaism, which was its practical forerunner for the 
Gentile nations. But the antagonism between Juda- 
ism and Christianity did not last very long, for as 
the Gentile churches became numerous and prominent 
the Jewish Christians lost influence in the direction 
of affairs. Nevertheless the Jewish propaganda had 
opened the way for Christianity among the Gentiles. 
The very synagogues, which Tertullian says were head- 
quarters for the persecution of Christians, became im- 
portant centres for the spread of Christianity through- 
out the world ; and that fact ought to teach Christians 
to-day the immense importance of houses of worship 
where the people may gather for prayer and praise 
after they have been converted. There never has been 
and never will be a successful propaganda without a 
platform at some central point where the advocates 
may meet and proclaim their principles. Indeed, this 
is so distinctly a mark of human progress that only 
the countries, where these platforms are freely allowed 
to the people, can legitimately claim to represent the 
best features of free government. The synagogue 


INTRODUCTORY 


ii 


was the place where Christianity first intrenched it- 
self; and though, in the beginning, the synagogue 
opposed the advance of Christianity, in the end it be- 
came Christianity’s abiding place. 

A second influential element in the Jewish prop- 
aganda was the book which they used. In all their 
synagogues the Old Testament was read and its teach- 
ing strongly enforced. The Jews claimed that this 
Testament contained the oldest writings in the world, 
and that it gave the only trustworthy history of the 
origin and progress of the human race. This plea was 
at once attractive and helpful to Gentiles whose sacred 
books were practically without definiteness and clear- 
ness with respect to the very things that the human 
soul seeks to know. Nor were the early Christians 
long in delivering the Old Testament from the claim 
of the Jews that it was exclusively their own book. 
These Christians contended that the book belongs to 
the human race, and that it is full of promises of the 
coming Messiah whose mission was to save the entire 
world. This view of the book gave the early Chris- 
tians a powerful lever with which to lift the Gentiles 
out of heathenism, and it was one of the strongest 
helps which Christianity had in its contest with the 
Gentile nations. 

Another important fact was favourable to the spread 
of Christianity during the Apostolic ministry. The 
Greek language had become largely the popular lan- 
guage, as well as the literary language of many coun- 
tries. Along with this spread of the Greek language, 
came the advance of Hellenism, and this continued 
until the beginning of the third century when Hellen- 
ism began to lose ground; and at the dawn of the 
fourth century Rome became practically a Latin city. 
Now, during the reign of Hellenism, Christianity was 


12 


INTRODUCTORY 


not slow to ally itself in speech and spirit with the 
prevailing cult, and this at once made Christianity 
popular with the civilisations which prevailed during 
the period under consideration. 

The unity of the Roman Empire at this particular 
time also lent itself to the spread of Christianity, while 
many other things might be mentioned, as indicating 
that the long preparation of the world for the supreme 
event of humanity had at last reached its climax, and 
the world was really now ready for the great Deliv- 
erer. Nevertheless, Christianity had many things to 
overcome, and these opposing elements at once intro- 
duced the same old conflict which had been raging 
ever since the tragedy in Eden, and which will not 
cease until the last enemy is destroyed, viz., death. 

It may be well to note some of the things that 
hindered the progress of Christianity in the early 
stages of its history. Not the least among these may 
be mentioned the following: 

(i). The polytheism of the Gentiles. This has al- 
ready been referred to as an opposing element to the 
advance of Judaism. It was equally opposed to Chris- 
tianity; and while the propaganda of Judaism did 
much to prepare the way for Christianity, it did not 
do everything. But even this polytheism must be 
closely scrutinised, as we find it in opposition to the 
spread of Christianity. It soon became, in this con- 
flict, something more than a mere representation of 
image worship. It gradually imbibed a certain 
philosophy denominated “ Orientalism.” This was a 
sort of spiritualising the coarser features of the poly- 
theistic systems, and this made it all the more diffi- 
cult for Christianity to break down the image worship 
which prevailed throughout the Gentile nations ; and it 
made it also easy, a little later on, for Christianity to 


INTRODUCTORY 


i3 

adopt the very thing it had strenuously opposed dur^ 
ing the early days of the Church. Indeed, by the be- 
ginning of the fifth century a modified form of image 
worship became prevalent in many places among 
Christians, and by the tenth century the worship had 
become wellnigh universal. 

(2) . Christianity’s first great triumphs were 
achieved through an earnest protest against worldly 
mindedness and habits which came from an unbridled 
reign of the fleshly nature. But it was not long be- 
fore the plea for strict morality became only a formal 
thing, even where it was insisted upon at all. Hence 
the contest with the world, the flesh and the Devil 
terminated, for a time at least, with the victory against 
Christianity. 

(3) . In contending for the domination of the spirit- 
ual man over the animal, the heart over the head, and 
religion over intellectual development, a reaction soon 
became prevalent in which “ ignorance ” became 
“ bliss ” and in which it was “ folly to be wise.” This 
fact opened the floodgates to all kinds of superstitions, 
and these fastened themselves upon the habits and 
customs of Christians until these Christians became 
subjects for ridicule by many of the cultured writers 
of the age, such as Celsus, Porphyry, Julian and 
others. 

But, notwithstanding these drawbacks, Christianity 
made progress, though generally by the zigzag course 
which has always characterised every step of real 
progress. It was itself, as it came from the hands of its 
divine author, everything that* could be desired. Its 
unity and variety “ from the very first were what con- 
stituted the secret of its fascination and a vital condi- 
tion of its success. On the one hand, it was so simple 
that it could be summed up in a few brief sentences and 


14 INTRODUCTORY 

understood in a single crisis of the inner life; on the 
other hand, it was so versatile and rich, that it vivified 
all thought and stimulated every emotion. Tt was 
capable almost from the outset, of vieing with every 
noble and worthy enterprise, with any speculation, or 
with any cult of the mysteries. It was both new and 
old; it was both present. and future. Clear and trans- 
parent, it was also profound and full of mystery. It 
had statutes, and yet rose superior to any law. It was 
a doctrine and yet no dqctrine, a philosophy and yet 
something different frorA philosophy.” * 

One would think that such a religion, as this was, 
ought to have steered clear of an apostasy. But this 
optimistic conclusion can be reached only by ignoring 
the opposing influences of evil which Christianity 
everywhere had to meet. These influences caused its 
checkered pathway of progress through the ages, and 
even now they still have to be overcome by every ad- 
vance of the Christian forces. However, in the fol- 
lowing pages an attempt has been made to show that 
Christianity will finally triumph in this contest, when 
the head and heart shall be legitimately co-ordinated, 
and when man’s spiritual nature shall again occupy its 
rightful position. 

No apology is offered for the prominence given to 
the plea for the existence of a personal Devil. The 
chapter on that subject is the only one that was not 
written recently. It was written for the most part 
several years ago, and after much reflection the author 
sees no reason why it should be materially modified. 
The modern tendency is to dispose of the Devil in 
any fashion that will best eliminate him from the af- 
fairs of this world. But the stubborn facts of history 
stand right in the way of this rationalistic solution of 
*Harnack , s “Expansion of Christianity,” Vol. i, page 102. 


INTRODUCTORY 


i5 

the problem of evil, and this rationalistic solution is 
itself only another evidence that man’s intellectual 
nature is still contending for the mastery wherever it 
is not controlled by an abiding faith in the Word of 
God. 

Since sin is the transgression of law, it is difficult 
to understand how sin could enter the world without 
the aid of personality. Perhaps the main trouble 
about the whole problem of evil has resulted from the 
hypothesis that sin is an entity, existing independently 
of all personal relations. Now it will be seen in the 
chapters which follow that evil is treated from a per- 
sonal point of view, and that therefore the doctrine of 
a personal devil, as the great instigator of evil, and 
probably the author of it, is in perfect harmony with 
the laws of the universe and the teaching of the Bible, 
and the admission of this personal feature in the prob- 
lem makes the solution of it not an impossible thing. 
In any case, it brings the solution within the sphere of 
human reason, and certainly relieves the problem from 
many difficulties that would otherwise be involved. Nor 
is the supposition that some great personality created 
by God should have rebelled against Him in the slight- 
est degree improbable, since, doubtless, Satan him- 
self was left free, as man was, to act independently of 
the Creator, if he choose to do so. In the case of both 
Satan and man the freedom of choice must be re- 
garded as the key to the whole problem of evil, and 
consequently this view of the matter is carefully con- 
sidered in its proper place. 

The writer does not even hope to receive any mercy 
at the hands of critics who are “ wise above what is 
written,” or who claim that by wisdom the world may 
really know God. While he has no faith at all in a 
spiritual ascendency which entirely ignores reason, at 


1 6 


INTRODUCTORY 


the same time he cannot sympathise with that intel- 
lectual development which just now assumes to know 
so much, and which would practically destroy all 
genuine heart-life and make faith in the spiritual 
world a sign of mental imbecility; but he does sym- 
pathise in a great degree with Byron when he says : 

Knowledge is not happiness, and science 
But an exchange of ignorance for that 
Which is another kind of ignorance. 

The time has come when the issue between Chris- 
tianity and rationalism should be clearly defined. The 
Christian’s standpoint should be: All knowledge that 
leads away from God is dangerous. Our Divine Lord 
summed up the whole matter in a sentence when He 
said : “ This is eternal life, to know the true and liv- 

ing God and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent.” Now 
if this statement is to be regarded as trustworthy, 
surely there can be no doubt as to the kind of knowl- 
edge we must possess in order to obtain eternal life. 
Of course there is a great deal of knowledge that leads 
up to that highest of all, and this knowledge can al- 
ways be co-ordinated with faith; but a knowledge 
which antagonises faith can never be of that kind 
which the Apostle Peter would have us “ add to vir- 
tue,” in the ascending steps of that pyramid of char- 
acter which is essential to give us an abundant entrance 
into the everlasting kingdom. Young was evidently 
right when he said : 

Your learning, like the lunar beam, affords 
Light, but not heat; it leaves you undevout, 

Frozen at heart, while speculation shines. 

There are some things that can be read between the 
lines that are not specifically mentioned in the pages 


INTRODUCTORY 


17 

which follow. Just here it may be well to point out 
at least three of these. 

(1) . A college or university which does not give 
emphatic attention to moral and religious culture is a 
dangerous force in our modern life. Education must 
comprehend more than mere intellectual and physical 
development. Our present common school system, 
which is the pride of the American people, may, after 
all, prove a disadvantage rather than an advantage 
in the development of a true civilisation. Unsanctified 
knowledge is a dangerous element in any community; 
and that there is a large amount of this developed by 
our modern educational systems cannot be doubted by 
any one who is familiar with the present state of 
things. In many places the Bible is ruled out of our 
public schools, and in many of our state universities 
religious instruction receives meagre hospitality. This 
is certainly not a healthy sign. It indicates a disposi- 
tion in educational circles to keep the head predomi- 
nantly influential as it has been in every civilisation 
of the world’s history where heart life and religion 
have been discounted. What is needed in our schools, 
colleges and universities is an emphatic note of reli- 
gious culture, a lifting up of the spiritual man, an 
accentuation of spiritual forces, a prominence in the 
curriculums of righteousness and goodness rather than 
the supremacy of intellect and physical development. 
At least, the religion of Christ should receive as much 
attention as baseball, football and other things that 
have for their object simply physical development. 
I am not pleading for the neglect of these things in 
proper portion ; but I am pleading for a very emphatic 
recognition of the rights of the heart. 

(2) . A government which does not recognise and 
co-ordinate religion in its constitution and administra- 


i8 


INTRODUCTORY 


tion is inadequate to meet the needs of a worthy 
twentieth century civilisation. Our own government 
in this respect is at some places weak. In our efforts 
to get away from Babylon we have in some things 
passed by Jerusalem. The separation of church and 
state, from one point of view, should be heartily ap- 
proved; but from another point of view, it should be 
just as heartily condemned. The separation must 
have its limitations, for in one sense, the separation 
between church and state cannot be any more than a 
complete separation between head and heart. The 
thing to do is to provide for such adaptation of co- 
ordination as may seem to be in harmony with a legiti- 
mate and healthy growth. While our government, 
therefore, fosters schools and benevolent institutions, 
and at the same time excludes from these proper moral 
and religious instruction, it must be evident to any 
one who is acquainted with the history of the world 
that this course of action cannot possibly lead to the 
best development of the noblest citizenship. 

(3). While the theory of evolution is admitted in all 
the discussion which follows, it will be readily seen 
by the attentive and intelligent reader that behind all 
evolution a personal God is recognised, who, in his 
providence, is working toward a special end, which 
end he has had in view from the very beginning to 
the present time, and which end must constantly be 
taken into any theory of development before it can 
possibly be understood. The reader will also notice 
that while change is regarded as an element in the law 
of progress, it is also a fact that there are some things 
that do not change, and that this law of permanency 
is just as important as the law of change. Indeed, 
the latter could not take place at all were it not for 
the former. I do not stop to argue with a man who 


INTRODUCTORY 


19 


affirms that I am foolish and unprogressive when I 
insist upon the unchanging fact that “ a straight line 
is the shortest distance between any two points/’ and 
that “ things that are equal to the same thing are equal 
to each other ” ; nor do I feel humiliated because it is 
intimated that I am extra-conservative when I believe 
in the permanency of species, and refuse to doubt the 
Bible doctrine that “ everything produces after its 
kind.” I do not have to go to the Bible for proof of 
this permanency. It is seen everywhere in nature. 
While there is among men almost infinite variety, it is 
also true that men continue to be men. There is some- 
thing that permanently remains, notwithstanding the 
numerous variations which take place. Probably 
there are no two leaves in a forest of trees exactly 
alike, and yet these leaves are all leaves, and nothing 
else. Each tree develops a great variety, but this 
variety never completely destroys the permanent char- 
acter of the tree. 

The same law is seen in all historical development. 
Every epoch is characterised by numerous changes, 
but there is something permanent all the way through 
each epoch. Take the three dispensations — the 
Patriarchal, the Jewish and the Christian — and much 
of the same thing is illustrated. There are changes 
in each dispensation, and also changes when one ceases 
and another begins, but there is always something 
that never changes, that is permanent all the way 
through. 

There are those who seem to think that progress 
requires that the ground shall be swept away upon 
which progress makes its steps. But there is, perhaps 
no more fatal delusion than this. In ordinary walk- 
ing no progress can be made unless there is something 
permanent on which we can place our feet. This is 


20 


INTRODUCTORY 


equally true in the higher realms of morals and reli- 
gion. Progress is everywhere influenced by forces 
which do not change as well as those which do change. 

It is precisely the fact referred to that makes prog- 
ress possible; hence conservatism is just as important 
in the development of a true civilisation as radicalism 
is. Both of these are necessary. They are as the 
centripetal and centrifugal forces in nature. When 
in exactly their right proportions, they hold all de- 
velopment in harmony as it unfolds through the .ages. 
Too much emphasis upon either one will produce dis- 
cord. The man who will not go forward to the things 
of to-morrow, because he finds some of the things of 
yesterday true to-day, has an entirely wrong view of 
his responsibilities. But the man who will not hold to 
some of the things of yesterday, because he wishes to 
make to-morrow better than yesterday or to-day, has 
no just conception of the laws which govern human 
progress. It is not retrogression to affirm the equality 
of triangles. Nor is it illicit evolution to say that 
many things growing out of the permanent may be 
very much improved. 

I think that all this will be shown in my discussion 
of the great forces which enter into the affairs of this 
world. I think it will be seen that while Jesus Christ 
Himself, in His own great Personality, is the same 
yesterday, to-day and forever, it is also true that the 
great scheme of redemption which He came to reveal 
and inaugurate contains progressive elements which 
must not be ignored in any plan of human life which 
has for its ideal the highest good. 

There are two extremes which constantly manifest 
themselves in modern life. One is that the past ages 
of the world yield us nothing that is worth while now, 
and the other is that we must look to the past for 


INTRODUCTORY 


21 


every ideal to be used in the future. The latter makes 
too much of permanency, and the former makes too 
little of it. One practically denies God’s immanence, 
and the other equally denies His transcendence. 

Perhaps the greatest fault of the present age is in 
its want of faith in the providence of God. Most 
men believe in the God of creation, and a great many 
in the God of redemption, but it is surprising how 
much infidelity there is with respect to the God of 
providence. Nevertheless it is precisely the fact of 
God’s providence that is the explanation of human 
history, and shows us how true religion has been 
evolved through the conflict of the ages. 

It will be seen that great prominence has been given 
to Jesus the Christ in the conclusion of my volume. 
[ think I have shown that He is the solvent of all prob- 
lems connected with the subject under discussion. It 
only remains to state that the solution which He gives 
is the only one which will be accepted by the people 
generally, and the only ground upon which Christian 
Union is possible. No wonder Keshub Chunder Sen 
has said: 

“ It is Christ who rules British India, and not the 
British Government,” or that Max Dohre, in his strik- 
ing volume entitled “ Drei Monate Fabrik-Arbeiter,” 
after declaring that workmen very generally had 
turned away from Christianity, should finally declare 
as follows: 

“ One thing only has remained in all of them — 
esteem and reverence for Jesus Christ. Even the 
most outspoken Social Democrat and hater of faith 
has that; yes, assuredly, he has it in greater measure 
than many a man not devoted to the Social Demo- 
cratic propaganda.” 

The most promising fact in modern life is this 


22 


INTRODUCTORY 


turning of all hearts to Jesus Christ. The old human 
creeds are no longer of much consequence, and in 
some cases they are entirely obsolete. But Jesus the 
Christ is to-day the most potent factor in the whole 
region of modern life, and this mainly because He, 
in His own great Personality, practically solves all 
the problems connected with life as well as explains 
all the history of the past ages. 

It may be that some pronounced pessimists will find 
fault with my supreme optimism. It is certainly true 
that I have taken a cheerful view of the future. I 
firmly believe that the outcome of the struggle will 
be a victory for good, right and truth. However, 
what is written is not without its warnings that the 
goal is not yet reached. The struggle is still on; the 
conflict is raging; the battle is not yet won. But 
surely there are already rifts in the clouds which in- 
dicate that there is a brighter day near at hand. It 
is for this brighter day that all should labour, hope 
and wait. It may not come in fullness during the 
present generation, but he who does not realise its 
near approach is blind and cannot see afar off ; for 
undoubtedly the signs of the times clearly indicate 
a distinct and emphatic rising of the Sun of Righteous- 
ness with healing in His beams. 

As a sign of better days, nothing perhaps is more 
striking than the Hague Peace Congress. The un- 
favourable criticisms which this Congress has received 
belong to that large clas of pessimistic grumbles 
wherein generally “ the wish is father to the thought.” 
It is readily granted that this Congress has not accom- 
plished all that ardent peace advocates hoped would 
come out of it; but, considering the whole case, it is 
evident that a reasonable progress has been made. It 
is true that war is yet a fearful reality; nevertheless, 


INTRODUCTORY 


23 


it cannot be denied that at least some of its evils have 
been considerably mitigated, if not entirely removed. 
Surely no one will believe that the Red Cross society 
was a possibility fifty years ago. The salutary influ- 
ence of this society, in modifying the rigours of war, 
furnish a very hopeful indication of the rise of the 
heart again to the position it occupied before it was 
dethroned by an unlawful use of intellectual power. 

But perhaps, after all, the most pronounced tend- 
ency of the present day in the direction of the new era 
of the reign of heart life may be found in the rising 
tide of Christian union. Christian fellowship is no 
longer bounded by purely intellectual conceptions of 
truth, but Christians are beginning to look at the truth 
with the “ eyes of the heart,” and this at once lifts 
religion into the region where love is the supreme 
factor, instead of the theological dogmas, which have 
so long divided the professed followers of Christ into 
rival and often belligerent sects. In short, Christians 
are beginning to realise the greatness and soul-inspir- 
ing character of the new commandment to love one 
another as Christ has loved them. 

There is one thing to which the reader’s attention 
is specially invited, viz., the emphasis which is placed 
upon personality as the key to all the problems of 
this earth’s history. It is not denied that there are 
mysteries all around us which perhaps can never be 
explained in the present life, but personality will help 
to an understanding of many things that would other- 
wise remain in darkness forever. Even the revelation 
of God’s love to the world becomes intelligible only 
when it is shown in the light of the incarnation. “ God 
with us ” makes the love of God a reality. Indeed, 
the incarnation itself is more than half explained in 
the personal character of it. The Virgin birth has 


24 


INTRODUCTORY 


been a stumbling block to some, but studied in the 
light of Personality, it is relieved of much of its ap- 
parent difficulty. Can any one show how it was 
possible for God to manifest His love for a lost world 
in a more vivid and effective manner than He has 
done in the gift of His Son that whosoever believeth 
on Him might not perish but have everlasting life? 
Until some one can show a better way for God to 
manifest His love, unfavourable criticism should be 
silent, for it is much easier to believe in the reality of 
the incarnation than to devise any other scheme or 
expedient by which God could have revealed His 
fatherly interest in the human race. 

Nor is this all. Calvary is a blot on the Divine 
character if a personal representation of God in the 
world was not a necessity. Sin is not a philosophical 
abstraction, nor is it merely a theological tenet. Sin 
is personal. It is the transgression of law, and there- 
fore must be associated with Personality. To deal 
With sin effectually required a personal interposition, 
just as is represented in the whole mission of Christ 
to the world. 

It only remains to say that no attempt has been 
made to treat many difficult questions in detail. The 
aim has rather been to furnish the reader with a key 
to the method of the Divine government, so that he 
can pursue his studies through the conflict of the ages 
without becoming hopelessly lost in endless perplexi- 
ties or wholly discouraged by apparent contradictions. 
It will be seen that Christ is made the end by which 
everything is to be judged. He becomes the explana- 
tion of all history, the infallible standard of ethics, 
and the only hope of the world. Beginning with the 
creation and coming down through the struggles of 
the ages, the riddle of the universe is practically solved 


INTRODUCTORY 25 

only when we reach Calvary and the resurrection. But 
along the line of development from creation to the 
resurrection, there is much that assures the devout 
student that God has been working from the founda- 
tion of the world to a glorious end, which end is the 
explanation as well as the glory of His providential 
oversight with respect to the human race. 











» 













I 


THE PROBLEM STATED 


It is only the intellect that can be thoroughly and hideously 
wicked. It can forget everything in the attainment of its 
ends. The heart recoils; in its retired places some drops of 
childhood’s dew still linger, defying manhood’s fiery noon. — 
James Russell Lowell. 

The intellect has only one failing, which, to be sure, is a 
very considerable one; it has no conscience. Napoleon is the 
readiest instance of this. If his heart had borne any propor- 
tion to his brain, he had been one of the greatest men in all 
history. — Lowell. 

The march of intellect is proceeding at quick time; and if 
its progress be not accompanied by a corresponding improve- 
ment in morals and religion, the faster it proceeds, with the 
more violence will you be hurried down the road to ruin. — 
Southey. 

Never believe to be right those who, having but a piece of 
metal in their chests, would persuade you that to be cold is 
to be wise. Warmth is the vivifying influence of the universe, 
and the heart is the source of noble deeds. — Kossuth. 

What is the human mind, however enriched with acquisition 
or strengthened by exercise, unaccompanied by an ardent and 
sensitive heart? Its light may illumine, but it cannot inspire. 
It may shed a cold and moonlight radiance upon the path of 
life, but it warms no flower into bloom; it sets free no ice- 
bound fountain. — Tuckerman. 

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. — 
Bible. 

Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the 
issues of life. — Bible. 

The heart is the best logician. — Wendell Phillips. 


I 


THE PROBLEM STATED 

Good and Evil are the words with which human his- 
tory begins. The book of Genesis contains the seeds 
of things. A careful study of this book will give us 
the key which unlocks nearly all mysteries. We may 
not always be able to use this key wisely, but there can 
be little doubt that if it is wisely used it will help us 
to solve all important problems connected with our 
relations to God and the Universe. But we must 
come to the study of this wonderful book with the 
proper equipment and with a reverent spirit, or else 
it is probable that the mysteries will become more 
mysterious rather than vanish before our investiga- 
tion. 

At present it is not necessary to enter upon the 
fruitless field of a discussion with respect to the his- 
torical credibility of this part of the Bible. It may 
readily be conceded that the picturesque style of the 
Hebrew language lends itself to statements which, 
when transferred to the somewhat matter of fact lan- 
guage of modern times, may have the appearance of 
exaggeration, even when the main facts communicated 
are regarded as historically true. But it is by no 
means certain that even the united wisdom of one 
hundred of our most eminent geologists could com- 
pose, in the same space, a more scientific and intel- 
ligible account of the origin of the universe, than that 
found in the first chapter of Genesis. Geology, as a 
science, is only about one hundred years old. Can 


30 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

any one tell us how so accurate an account of creation 
could have been written at the time the book of Genesis 
was composed? Should any one deny the miracle of 
creation, as recorded in this chapter, he will still have 
to account for a miracle equally incomprehensible, 
viz., the miracle of composition which gives a com- 
prehensive, detailed statement of the origin of the 
universe thousands of years before the science of 
geology was known; and yet that statement is practi- 
cally in harmony with the facts of creation as conceded 
by all the ablest geologists of our present time. 

But a far more important question than the origin 
of the universe meets us just here. This question is, 
Why was suffering permitted to enter into human his- 
tory? In the presence of this question some have 
stumbled. But why is this? They tell us that the 
story of Adam’s fall and the consequences resulting 
therefrom cannot be accepted as a reasonable explana- 
tion of the introduction of suffering into the world. 
They tell us that a good God would not have created 
a being who could fall, as Adam did, and entail upon 
the race the suffering which has marked the pathway 
of all human history. But will these wise philosophers 
give us a more plausible reason for the suffering 
which surely exists? That suffering does exist will 
not be denied by any of them. How did it enter the 
world? By what means is it continued? If it is 
here (and no one doubts this) is not the Bible ex- 
planation as reasonable as any other that may be sug- 
gested? The Bible’s story only indicates the method 
by which suffering came into the world. It in no 
sense changes the fact of its existence, or in any way 
affects the problem of its existence. 

Of course, behind the problem of suffering there is 
the greater problem, the problem of evil. In our pres- 


THE PROBLEM STATED 


3i 

ent state this problem may never be solved satisfac- 
torily. It comes into history with the origin of man. 
It doubtless existed before man existed, at least be- 
fore man, as history knows him, existed; for the 
Bible begins human history properly when man was 
endowed with his spiritual nature. He may have 
existed, as purely an animal, for millions of years be- 
fore he was created in the image of God, as we now 
know him to possess a physical, animal and spiritual 
nature. The last was conferred upon him in a direct 
gift from God, and it is from the time of his reception 
of this gift that the Bible dates the beginning of the 
Adamic race; and it is with this race that the Bible 
specially deals, no matter how many other races may 
have existed. The tragedy of Eden and the tragedy 
of Calvary are united in the Adamic race, and though 
it could be proved that many other races, distinct from 
the Adamic race, have existed or still exist, the truth- 
fulness of the Bible Narrative would not be success- 
fully impeached thereby, for the Bible Narrative is 
concerned mainly with the stream of history which 
has its fountain in Adam and Eve. 

But, however this may be, it is certain that evil 
existed in the world before Adam and Eve ate of the 
forbidden fruit ; indeed, it is probable that evil existed 
before the six days of creation, as these are usually 
called. The first chapter of Genesis may be properly 
divided into three great periods as follows: 

(1) . The Creative Period. 

(2) . The Chaotic Period. 

(3) . The Organic, or Reconstruction Period. 

The first verse tells of the creative act of God by 

which the whole universe was brought into existence ; 
and when this creative act was finished, doubtless the 
Heavens and the earth were complete in every respect 


32 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

wherein divine wisdom had planned. But after this, 
there came a reign of Chaos, and this Chaos was prob- 
ably produced by a temporary triumph of evil. How 
long after the creation of the Heavens and the earth 
before this catastrophe, or overthrow, came about no 
one can now tell, for the Hebrew narrator evidently 
had in view simply the preparation of the earth for 
man’s reception and the subsequent history of man 
from his creation. Nevertheless, there is something in 
the very wording of the second verse which is strongly 
suggestive of the overthrow to which attention has 
been called. The common version reads as follows: 

“ The earth was without form and void, and dark- 
ness was upon the face of the deep.” Now as there is 
no distinction of past, perfect and pluperfect tenses in 
Hebrew, in our translation of that language we must 
be governed solely by the exigencies of the case in 
rendering any particular word, as to whether it shall 
be one of these tenses or the other. In view of this 
fact we are at liberty to translate the word which is 
rendered “ was ” by some other tense, if the exigencies 
of the case seem to require it. Many scholars are 
now rendering the phrase quoted from the common 
version as follows: 

“And the earth had become wastiness and empti- 
ness (or waste and wild) and darkness was upon the 
face of the abyss.” 

Now if this translation can be justified, and it is 
believed that it can be on the best of grounds, then it 
is clear that the whole phrase indicates a previous state 
when the earth was not wastiness and emptiness, such 
as it had become , but was practically what the first 
verse indicates, an orderly and a complete creation; 
and consequently the reign of Chaos began after the 
cataclysm had taken place by which the overthrow 


THE PROBLEM STATED 


33 

came about that brought the reign of darkness upon 
the face of the great deep. 

If this view be accepted, then it follows that some- 
time in the aeons of the past there was a lapse or an 
overthrow of the earth, by which its conditions were 
changed from what they were in the beginning when 
it was first created. Much might be said in support 
of this conclusion from even a geological point of 
view, but it is not my purpose at present to discuss 
this phase of the subject. Nevertheless it is necessary 
to state this probable catastrophe as a starting point for 
a long series of analogies all of which tend to illus- 
trate and enforce the fact that the whole of history, 
so far as it is revealed to us, abundantly demonstrates 
that the evolution of the physical, moral and spiritual 
universes everywhere presents a series of events run- 
ning from order to confusion, and from confusion to 
order again ; from light to darkness, and from dark- 
ness to light again ; from life to death, and from death 
to life again ; and this state of things can be explained 
only on the hypothesis that evil has been a prominent 
factor in all the affairs of the universe since the first 
overthrow took place, and which resulted in the reign 
of Chaos between the time when the heavens and the 
earth were created and the reorganisation of the earth, 
which probably fell into disorder through the influence 
of evil. 

It is well to notice just here that the Hebrew phrase 
— Tohoo Va Bohoo — properly rendered “waste and 
wild ” — is found only in two other places in the whole 
of the Old Testament Scriptures, viz., Isa. xxxiv:ii 
and Jeremiah iv:23; and in both of these cases there 
is a suggestion of a previous overthrow. Tohoo, dis- 
sociated from Bohoo, is found in several other places, 
but in these places there is no necessary suggestion of 


34 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

a previous catastrophe ; but in the three places where 
these terms are associated together there is a clear 
intimation of a former state of things when confusion 
and disorder did not prevail, but which was followed 
by an overthrow, resulting in the state of things 
described in the second verse of the first chapter of 
Genesis. 

Several passages of Scripture might be quoted in 
support of the rendering I have given the passage 
under consideration. In Isa. xlv:i 8 , we have a strik- 
ing confirmation. The language is “ For thus saith 
the Lord, that created the Heavens; He is God that 
formed the earth and made it; He established it, He 
created it not a waste ; He formed it to be inhabited.” 

Now the word which is rendered “ waste ” in this 
quotation is Tohoo in the Hebrew, one of the words 
used in the second verse of the first chapter of Genesis ; 
and this passage in Isaiah makes it evident that it was 
not the purpose of God, when He created the earth, 
that it should be waste or desolate, but that it should 
be a fitting place for inhabitants; such a place as it 
finally became after the six days of reconstruction. 

To sum up the whole case, as it seems to be pre- 
sented in the Bible, we note the following facts : 

( 1 ) . In the “ beginning ” God created the Heavens 
and the earth. When this beginning was no one can 
tell, nor is it necessary that any one should know when 
it was. 

(2) . There was a period (how long cannot be deter- 
mined) when the earth remained in an organic state; 
but just what that state implied, or whether the earth 
was inhabited or not, the record does not determine, 
nor is it necessary for us to know with certainty 
exactly what that state was any more than it is that we 
should know all about the future state, which is only 


THE PROBLEM STATED 35 

faintly adumbrated in the Bible. There is room here, 
however, for profound meditation, and for the wings 
of the most vivid imagination. Nevertheless, there is 
enough that may be regarded as historical to suggest 
some very fruitful lines of investigation. 

(3) . It is important to notice that in the record of 
Genesis the earth is at once singled out from the rest 
of the creation, and is then treated separately with 
respect to what happened. 

(4) . In this separate treatment it is strongly inti- 
mated that the earth finally “ became waste and wild,” 
and darkness was upon the face of the great abyss, 
and that this was brought about through some inter- 
position of evil which had the effect to overthrow the 
prevailing order and produce confusion and darkness 
upon the face of the great deep. 

(5) . In the course of the evolution the spirit of 
God brooded upon the face of the waters with quick- 
ening effect. This was the first step in the prepara- 
tion for a reorganisation of the fallen earth. 

(6) . “God said let there be light and light was.” 
This first fiat in the new creation ushers in the dawn 
of a new earth. 

(7) . Then follow the successive days of the reor- 
ganisation of the earth which had been overthrown, 
and this reorganisation is finally crowned by the crea- 
tion of man to inhabit the earth which had been pre- 
pared for him. 

It has already been remarked that Genesis furnishes 
us with the seeds of things. Now do we find anything 
in the foregoing facts that harmonises with human 
history, so far as we have knowledge of that history? 
I think that a careful investigation will prove that the 
creation drama, in its development, has been repro- 
duced again and again in the history of the earth, 


36 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

and of man, since that drama closed. It will be nec- 
essary just here to indicate a few instances wherein 
this parallel is abundantly illustrated and empha- 
. sised. 

Let us now notice the following suggestive facts : 

(i). The overthrow in Eden . How long a time 
elapsed after the creation of man until the temptation 
and fall cannot be determined with any certainty; 
nevertheless, it is probable that this time was much 
longer than has been usually supposed. But this does 
not matter. Time with respect to things pertaining 
to that distant period of the world’s history need not 
be regarded as an important factor. It is sufficient 
for us to know that some time during the history of 
our first parents they were tempted and fell, and as a 
result of this overthrow they were driven out of Eden, 
and Adam had to earn his bread by the sweat of his 
brow. The ground itself was cursed for man’s sake, 
and this with the fall of Adam, was the second great 
catastrophe which happened to the earth. 

It would be interesting to stop here for a little while 
in order to notice some of the questions which crowd 
upon the mind and ask for answers. Why was this 
fall permitted? What was the meaning of this re- 
markable overthrow in the history of the race? Was 
there any compensation which came out of this dis- 
aster? Was the fall evil and only evil? If man lost 
heavily in some things did he not gain in others? Is 
not this the course of all things? Is it not the way of 
evolution that loss must be sustained in order to gain ? 
Did not Paul teach that what we sow is not quickened 
except it die? Did not our Divine Lord teach prac- 
tically the same thing, when he said that unless a grain 
of wheat fall into the ground and die it cannot produce 
fruit? In short, is it not true always and everywhere 


THE PROBLEM STATED 


37 

that catastrophes must come, that overthrows are a 
part of the process of development, that light comes 
out of darkness, order out of confusion, symmetry out 
of chaos, and life out of death? Some of these ques- 
tions may be answered when we have proceeded a 
little further with our investigation; but at present 
they are asked simply to start the mind to thinking 
with respect to the great evolutionary processes which 
have marked the development of the earth in all of 
its history, and which must of course be considered in 
any worthy treatment of the origin, development and 
character of the Old Testament Scriptures. 

(2). The second general catastrophe in human his- 
tory, to which attention is called, came with the flood. 
Several hundred years of painful experience with the 
fallen race brought it to the verge of universal ruin. 
It even repented God that He had made man. This 
antediluvian condition of the world was truly deplor- 
able. It seems that every instinct of evil broke forth 
with all the energy of the infernal regions until the 
whole race was sunk into such depths of sin and in- 
famy that no one was really worth saving except Noah 
and his family. When this condition of things had 
reached its final culmination the flood came and swept 
all away except those who were in the ark. 

Looked at from an economical point of view, in the 
light of our imperfect vision, it would seem that there 
was, in this last experiment, as well as in the others I 
have mentioned, a vast waste of energy and material. 
But this view of the matter would doubtless be greatly 
modified if we had infinite vision and could understand 
perfectly “the ways of God to man.” But however 
this may be, the facts are not altered. In the last case 
referred to, the whole inhabitable earth was submerged 
and its inhabitants destroyed, and there were only 


38 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

eight persons preserved from whom the earth could 
be repopulated. 

(3). Another curious cataclysm came about during 
the time of the patriarch Peleg. I refer to the con- 
fusion of tongues which took place at Babel. Ap- 
parently there was again disappointment in reference 
to the race which inhabited the new earth. For a time 
things went on fairly well, but in a few hundred years 
the same old spirit of rebellion against the creator, 
and the same old spirit of self-centred sufficiency be- 
gan to manifest themselves in all the affairs of human 
life. Ambition, unholy ambition, self-laudatory am- 
bition, began to demand a name for the people ; and so 
it was determined to build a tower on which this name 
could be written, and which tower would be a sort of 
central point around which the people could rally, by 
which means they might be held together, and thus 
become stronger in their own strength. But God 
broke in upon this materialistic view of fame and 
unity and brought about a confusion of tongues which 
made it impossible for the people to understand one 
another. 

Now whether this confusion was produced by some 
miraculous interposition with respect to the tongue, 
or whether by scattering the people, as the record 
seems to indicate, they were driven into different sec- 
tions of the country, and owing to their respective 
isolated conditions, the old language was so changed 
in a little time, that practically new languages came up 
out of the old roots, is not material so far as my pres- 
ent contention is concerned. However, in passing, 
I may say that I am of the opinion that the sacred 
narrative justifies the latter view of the case. The 
Hebrew word rendered “ scatter,” in our version, has 
the force of driving out, and that is probably what 


THE PROBLEM STATED 


39 


God did in this case. He drove out the people from 
Babel into the sections of country enumerated in the 
ioth chapter of Genesis where we find the best 
ethnological classification that has ever been made; a 
classification which, when tested by all the facts of 
history, is shown to be perfectly scientific and per- 
fectly trustworthy. 

It is well to remark that this last great universal 
catastrophe is just as inexplicable on its surface as any 
of the other great events to which reference has been 
made. Nevertheless, when we go down a little below 
the surface it will be found that this confusion of 
tongues was an essential element in the process of 
evolution through which mankind has been develop- 
ing toward the highest possible perfection. 

(4) . The four hundred years of the sojourn in 
Egypt is another illustration of God's providential 
dealing with the human race . He had selected a 
special people for a special purpose, but in order to 
train them for this purpose, it seems to have been 
necessary that they should dwell for a long period in 
a strange land and under a bondage which was, for 
a time at least, wellnigh insufferable. 

(5) . After their deliverance from this bondage and 
their entrance into the land of Canaan, they were still 
subjected to the ups and downs of a checkered life, 
which went forward and backward through succes- 
sive trials and triumphs, and finally in exile they were 
compelled to atone for their violation of the divine law 
which had been given to them by Jehovah. 

(6) . While cured of some of the evils for which 
they had been punished, it was not long after their 
return to their native land and the rebuilding of their 
temple until they began again to fall away from the 
worship of their fathers, and soon a new cloud of dark - 


4 o SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

ness settles upon their history which is not broken 
until the four hundred silent years , between Malachi 
and the coming of Christ , have ended. 

The coming of Christ was precisely at a time when 
the greatest darkness hung over the Jewish people. 
The Sun of Righteousness arose when moral chaos 
prevailed everywhere throughout the land of promise. 
It was as if God said again : “ Let there be light,” and 
the Sun of Righteousness arose with healing in his 
beams. 

(7). Jesus came as their Deliverer, but he was 
“ despised and rejected ” and finally crucified to satisfy 
the national hatred of him. But they were still al- 
lowed forty years in which to repent, the same as the 
time of wandering in the wilderness, before they 
reached the promised land; but at the end of that 
period their temple and city were destroyed, the ark 
of the covenant and the temple service carried away 
by Titus to Rome, while the national life was com- 
pletely broken and the people scattered throughout the 
world, until the Dispersion, which began with the 
Exile in Babylon, became a fearful and an accom- 
plished fact. 

In all this, there is clearly indicated the supervision 
of a supernatural power. These facts cannot be ex- 
plained by any laws that we call natural. Of course 
it is possible that somewhere in the relation of things 
it may be that the natural and supernatural meet and 
coalesce, as light and darkness, or as the kingdoms of 
nature, but we have not yet been able to locate this 
particular sphere, so that we may call that which is 
natural supernatural and that which is supernatural 
natural. At present we must use these terms as con- 
tradistinguished from each other. 

Now, we have already seen that the first creation of 


THE PROBLEM STATED 


4i 


the earth was probably followed by such a lapse or 
overthrow as practically left the earth “ waste and 
wild/’ with darkness hovering over the face of the 
great abyss. Surely development here was not in 
straight lines. It was upward and downward, and 
then upward and downward again ; and finally develop- 
ing to that state of the earth as we now see it. 

A similar analogy may be traced as regards the 
great ice period which once prevailed over certain 
regions of the earth, which regions have now a warm 
climate. Geologists are of the opinion that there was 
a decided abatement of ice during this period, when 
for a time the cold receded; and then came another 
period which was marked by the most intense frigidity. 
All this shows that there is no dead level plane in 
nature or history where the best elements of progress 
are at work. Progress is along the lines of conflict. 
The men and women who have been most active and 
influential in the affairs of this world are to be found 
only in that narrow belt encircling the earth where 
hostile elements of the seasons are constantly in 
antagonism. Great characters are not developed in 
the extreme South or the extreme North. Character 
grows where the tall, sturdy trees grow whose roots 
are sent down into the soil by contrary winds which 
sweep through the outspreading branches. Struggle 
is the law of development. Peace has its victories, 
but these can only come after struggle has made way 
for them, and even then, these victories will prove 
disastrous if they lead to indifference, profligacy, or 
indolence. Work is the road to the highest develop- 
ment, and work means struggle with opposing forces, 
and opposing forces cannot always be met by a frontal 
attack, and, consequently, in military science the flank 
movement is regarded with much favour. 


4 2 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

The apostles were charged with turning the world 
upside down. That charge expresses definitely just 
what the apostles did. They found the world wrong 
side up, and their whole endeavour was to put it right 
again. Religiously it was in chaos. Their message 
was, “ Let there be light,” and their gospel was, the 
power of God unto salvation. It was the dunamis, as 
the Greeks would say, or as we would say, the dyna- 
mite, the power of God to save all who believed. 
Their proclamation was a strong opposing element 
against all sin and unrighteousness, as well as a lov- 
ing invitation, to those who labour and are heavy 
laden, to come to Jesus for rest. 

No wonder the votaries of established institutions 
were incensed at the daring of the apostles. There 
was in the Gospel message a distinct bidding of the 
black chaos, which at that time spread its sombre 
night shade over a lost and ruined world, to depart 
and give place to the sunshine of love that everywhere 
accompanied the sweet Gospel of redeeming grace. 
Their message was the clarion voice of a new era 
for fallen men and women. It was the beginning of 
a reorganisation of society, just as the earth was re- 
organised after the first overthrow had taken place. 
Though strongly opposed, and often apparently de- 
feated, the Gospel, upon the whole, continued to gain 
substantial victories until the little stone which was 
cut out of the mountain has rolled on, gathering 
strength in its way, until its dimensions may soon fill 
the whole earth. 

What has been said of the Gospel may also be said 
of other things. The old civilisations are everywhere 
giving way to the new ideals of the twentieth century, 
and the prospect now is that before this century closes 
the whole world will be practically revolutionised 


THE PROBLEM STATED 43 

and brought under the dominion of the reign of 
Christ. 

The foregoing considerations enable us to formulate 
the following three great laws which will help us to 
understand the historical setting of the subject under 
consideration : 

( 1 ) . Physical facts must be dealt with when we are 
studying the Providence of God in his dealings with 
his creatures. The physical, moral and spiritual are 
so closely allied in the affairs of human life that they 
cannot be properly separated; and when they are 
united, they mutually assist one another in offering 
an explanation of all the forces of progress. 

(2) . Progress is practically impossible where life 
does not come into contact with new elements, and 
where these elements are not in some way appropri- 
ated, so as to become an added force in the evolution- 
ary process. Consequently what seems to be a failure 
is sometimes only the end of a certain progressive 
development, from which a new order of things re- 
sults by the introduction of a new vital force. 

(3) . In our present state the evolution of good is 
often seemingly hindered by the opposition of evil, 
but when we come to understand all the facts of the 
case this opposition of evil makes for the final highest 
development of the good. Hence the opposing forces 
in the dark background of Biblical history should 
be regarded as a part of the evolutionary process by 
which the Old Testament was adapted to the various 
degrees of development of the people for whom it 
was intended. 

With respect to the first of these laws it is not 
needful to say much more than I have already said. 
It has been clearly pointed out how the creative period 
was followed by a chaotic period, and then how these 


44 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

two were followed by a formative period, or a period 
when the earth was practically reorganised. It would 
be easy enough to trace a close analogy between the 
different days of this organic period and the differ- 
ent dispensations in the line of progress through the 
ages to the final coming of Jesus Christ our Lord; but 
this is not necessary in view of what has already been 
considered. 

It is, however, well to notice carefully the bearing 
of the second law, to which I have called attention, 
upon the matter now before us. In the light of this 
law we notice a very significant fact in the nature of 
human progress. This progress is not only in zigzag 
lines, but is always impossible unless the lower things 
of life are re-enforced from those that are higher. In 
other words, we cannot progress in anything without 
re-enforcement from without as well as by the best 
use of the forces within. The mineral kingdom can- 
not pass up into the vegetable until the seed of the 
vegetable comes down and appropriates the mineral; 
the vegetable cannot pass up into the animal except 
the animal comes down and appropriates it; neither 
can the animal pass up into the spiritual unless the 
spiritual comes down and lifts it over the chasm which 
separates between the two. Now if this statement be 
accepted as true, then it must be apparent to every- 
one that progress is simply impossible beyond certain 
lines unless the things beneath these lines are brought 
up by a new power which goes down after that which 
has spent its force, but which may still be used for 
great purposes of progress, if it can be revivified by 
new elements or life coming into it from above. This 
is precisely what took place in Jewish history. The 
supernatural re-enforcement from above was evidently 
the determining factor in every step of Israelitish 


THE PROBLEM STATED 


45 


progress. Slowly but surely this progress made its 
way, not without many drawbacks and even appa- 
rent failures; but in all the v darkest part of Jewish 
history “ God was standing in the shadow keeping 
watch above his own.” 

Now this brings us to the consideration of the third 
law to which I have called attention. This law is of 
supreme importance, in view of the subject now before 
us. Consequently I desire to invite the attention of 
the reader very closely while I seek to apply it in 
finding the true meaning of the environment in which 
the Old Testament history is set. 

There are at least three great facts which seem to 
me to lie at the historical basis of our Bible. One of 
these facts is the progressive development of man's in-' 
tellectual nature as well as those things which mark his 
intellectual growth. This development is seen in all 
the facts of history from the fall of man to the com- 
ing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

A second fact is equally striking for the same 
period, viz., The moral degeneration of the race. In 
other words, we have two influences at work through- 
out human history, viz., The intellectual and religi- 
ous. These, for the most part, must be regarded as 
opposed to each other during the whole time of the 
formation of the Old Testament Scriptures. Indeed, 
to state the matter concisely, this is precisely the back- 
ground or environment in which the Old Testament 
had its origin, and without reckoning with these two 
forces it is impossible for us to understand how the 
Old Testament could be what it is. 

I shall not now take space for any lengthy refer- 
ence to facts in order to establish the statement made. 
The conflict between these two forces in the develop- 
ment of the race was actively manifested in the ante- 


46 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

diluvian world. The Cainites were intellectual. They 
were the scientists and philosophers of the age in 
which they lived, as well as the inventors and arti- 
sans. The Sethites represented the religious line, 
and yet they were a very feeble force in comparison 
with their intellectual neighbours. The final result 
was the Sethites were swept down by the overpower- 
ing influence of the Cainites, and this triumph of the 
intellect over the heart, the secular over the religious, 
the evil over the good is undoubtedly what brought 
upon the world the deluge with all the destruction 
which followed. 

The same conflict is again seen in the historic 
records between the flood and the coming of Christ. 
During this period the intellectual development of 
the race is very distinctly marked in the civilisations 
of Assyria, Babylonia, Greece and Rome. Even now 
we look back to these civilisations for ideals of intel- 
lectual development. In many respects the modern 
world is not only indebted to the ancient world for 
its highest ideals of intellectual progress, but in some 
respects at least, the modern world is far behind the 
ancient in intellectual growth. 

This fact is coming to be very generally understood. 
The notion that primitive men were intellectually 
weak is no longer seriously entertained by even well- 
informed scientists. The human skulls and skeletons 
which have been found at Gibraltar, Clichy and other 
places in Europe, which are supposed to belong to 
the paleanthropic or post-glacial age, all show remark- 
able brain power, as well as great stature and longev- 
ity of life; and this is just what ought to be expected 
if we believe the Bible account of the Creation, and 
the subsequent development of man’s intellectual na- 
ture at the expense of his spiritual nature. Mr. Ho- 


THE PROBLEM STATED 


47 


ratio Hale, in the Transactions of the Royal Society of 
Canada , has clearly shown that primitive men must 
have been endowed with very high intellectual powers, 
and his view of this matter is strongly corroborated 
by other able geologists and anthropologists. At 
the same time all investigation has tended to prove 
that man, morally, in his earliest primitive state, was 
far from occupying a high position. 

Of course it is difficult to secure definite facts with 
respect to postdiluvian civilisations. Whether the 
flood was universal or only partial, it certainly covered 
the whole area where man was at that time found. 
This flood probably destroyed most, if not all, the 
means by which the progress of the race could be de- 
termined up to the time of the flood. Consequently 
we are practically shut up to the Bible for all informa- 
tion concerning man prior to that great catastrophe. 
Nevertheless if the skulls and skeletons, already re- 
ferred to, should belong to an age antedating the del- 
uge (as some contend) then it is evident that antedilu- 
vian man is practically shown in these specimens to 
have been just what the Bible says he was. He lived 
to a very great age, had great muscular strength, was 
of great stature, and was characterised by violence 
and brutality in his conduct ; all of which corresponds 
exactly with the Bible account of him in the book of 
Genesis, as well as in the description given by the 
Apostle Paul in the first chapter of his letter to the 
Romans. 

The point, however, which I wish to specially em- 
phasise is the superiority of man’s intellectual nature 
at this time as compared with his spiritual nature, 
though in all probability even his intellectual nature 
was to some extent weakened in certain directions on 
account of the seeds of death which began their work 


48 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

in man’s whole being as soon as he ate the forbidden 
fruit; but in the main the intellect had the supreme 
place and dominated the spiritual man. It is also 
significant that the intellect and flesh, or bodily nature, 
were in co-partnership when man fell and have kept 
up this partnership all through the ages; and while it 
is true that the intellect seems not to have suffered 
very much from the fall, certainly it cannot be denied 
that man has given evidence of degeneracy, from the 
moral point of view, in all the history to which at- 
tention is called. It is furthermore true that this moral 
degeneracy had practically reached its climax at the 
advent of our Divine Lord. Indeed, the Apostle 
Paul’s statement of this degeneracy, in the first chap- 
ter of Romans, is one of the blackest pictures any- 
where to be found in all the annals of human history. 
Nevertheless, at that very time the civilisation of Rome 
had practically reached its highest development from 
an intellectual point of view. It was the age of Au- 
gustus, and as it has been truly said : “ He found Rome 
brick and left it marble.” It was the age of some of 
the most splendid intellects the world has ever seen, 
as well as the age of much that has been a model in 
intellectual achievements for all successive generations. 

Now if my generalisation is correct, then it must 
be evident that our Bible was formed under the in- 
fluence of two great forces which generally, if not at 
all times, were in hostile conflict with each other ; and 
such being the case, it is not difficult to understand 
many things in the Bible that otherwise could not be 
easily explained. 

I must now state a third fact which is really the 
crux of the whole question under consideration. 
Through most of the period to which reference has 
been made, God was using a peculiar and special peo- 


THE PROBLEM STATED 


49 

pie with a view to emphasise the moral side of de- 
velopment, and to act as a sort of breakwater against 
the purely intellectual tide which was sweeping every- 
where in the direction of ultimate, moral and religi- 
ous ruin. This last fact throws considerable light on 
the whole providential interposition in human affairs 
through a chosen people, in whom it was the purpose 
of God to keep alive the moral and religious forces 
which were absolutely necessary in order to preserve 
the race ffrom complete self-destruction. We must, 
therefore, study the mission of Israel in the world 
from this point of view, and when it is thus studied, 
it may not be difficult to understand how the Old Tes- 
tament Scriptures came into existence, and why they 
are what we find them to be. 

Let it therefore be distinctly understood that the 
great purpose of God in the revelation of the 
Old Testament was to prepare the world through a 
'specially called out people, and a special revelation 
of his holiness and righteousness for the new age and 
new revelation of the “ Father,” which was to be 
ushered in by Him whose advent was adumbrated 
even as early as the promise that was made to Eve 
in the Garden of Eden, that the seed of the woman 
should bruise the serpent’s head. But even in this 
promise there is an intimation of the very conflict 
to which I have called attention; for while it is dis- 
tinctly stated that the seed of the woman should bruise 
the serpent’s head, it is also stated that this was to be 
attended by injury to the heel of the seed of the 
woman. 

We are now prepared to answer some questions 
which may be suggested by inquiring minds. Why 
did not God reveal Himself in His full-orbed charac- 
ter at once instead of making himself known through 


50 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

thousands of years of conflict, as has already been 
indicated? Undoubtedly the Patriarchal and Jewish 
view of God does not express what he is as revealed 
to us in the New Testament Scriptures. It is Christ 
that shows us the “ Father ” in His true light. But 
why could not the Patriarch and Jew see the Father 
as He is revealed in Christ? These questions have 
been asked again and again by Christians as well as 
skeptics, and the Old Testament has frequently been 
seriously criticised because the revelation of God 
in it seems to be contrary to what that revelation is 
through Jesus Christ. But we had just as well ask 
why was not the renovation of the earth completed 
in one day rather than in six, and why is not every 
human being fully grown at birth? And why do we 
not learn to read and write and do everything with 
respect to education at once, without the toil and 
struggle through which we now have to gain the high- 
est development in these things ? Revelation was 
necessarily progressive, and especially as this revela- 
tion had mainly to do with religion. It was at this 
point where man was weakest. In the fall the spiritual 
was dethroned and the animal enthroned. The strug- 
gle through the ages has been to reverse this condi- 
tion, and the Old Testament furnishes us with the 
steps of progress mainly through a chosen people 
by which the religious element in man was prepared 
for that period when a new man in Christ Jesus would 
be possible. 

That the morality of the Old Testament is imper- 
fect may be freely admitted. It was not intended by 
God that it should be perfect, not even his own com- 
mands, not even his own law, when that law is con- 
sidered in its relation to the whole world. It was a 
law for a special time and for a special people, and 


THE PROBLEM STATED 


5i 


was all that was necessary for that time and people . 
A perfect revelation of God, during either the Patri- 
archal or Jewish dispensations, would have been born 
out of due time, and would probably have hindered 
the ultimate triumph of religion in the world. We 
judge of the Old Testament morality from our Chris- 
tian point of view, and this is exactly the right point 
of view from which to look at everything in the Old 
Testament, provided we take into the account the 
difference in the dispensations, for the true stand- 
point of ethics is not the beginning, nor the process, 
but the end , which comes from a beginning through 
a process. We judge as to what is true morality by 
the great end or ideal furnished us in Jesus Christ; 
but a sensible view of the matter will compel us to 
take into consideration the origin and development 
which antedate the end, and we will judge of this 
origin and development by the circumstances attend- 
ing them. We judge of the terminus a quo by the ter- 
minus ad quern. 

All the difficulties that have been suggested are 
easily reconciled when we recognise the conflict be- 
tween good and evil, between the religious nature of 
man and his intellect, and between the different dis- 
pensations through which the progress of the world 
has passed. As a matter of fact God revealed Himself 
to the world by successive steps. He did not lift the 
Jewish people at once into their best conceptions of 
religion, but slowly through patriarch, through law, 
through the conditions of an environment where they 
were influenced by contrary forces, and through a long 
period of checkered history, during which the tide of 
religion rose and fell, and then rose and fell again, 
as it was swept along through the influence of the 
law and the prophets. 


52 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

The folly of some modern critics is in supposing 
that all the imperfect revelations of God under the 
Old Testament Scriptures were added increments from 
the environment of the people of Israel. Now this 
is a great mistake. No doubt Israel was affected by 
the adjacent nations, for there is undoubtedly, even 
in the Old Testament records a colouring in some 
places which is distinctly Chaldean, in other places 
Arabian, and still in other places Egyptian ; but this- 
colouring- in no place is allowed to override the revela- 
tion of God Himself, or the quality of that religious 
substratum which is seen everywhere in the pages of 
the Old Testament Scriptures. The manners, cus- 
toms and habits of Israel were no doubt influenced 
by an environment which at times almost overwhelmed 
the very purpose for which Israel had been chosen as 
a distinct people. Nevertheless, this environment never 
did, in any case, influence the records of that won- 
derful struggle through which Israel had to pass from 
Abraham to Christ. At the very start Abraham stood 
practically alone in the world of polytheism. In the 
days of the formation of the Nicene creed it was Atha- 
nasius against the world; but in the beginning of the 
Israelite family it was Abraham against the world. It 
was then faith against sight, religion against intellec- 
tual development, and morality against the “ corrup- 
tion of the world through lust/' 

As has already been intimated, it is certain that 
good and evil existed before the appearance of man 
on the earth, but man had no knowledge of these after 
he appeared until he ate the forbidden fruit. The 
tree in the midst of the garden was not the tree of 
evil as some have supposed, but the tree of the knowl- 
edge of good and evil. Evil had shown itself in the 
overthrow of the earth, after its creation, and it may 


THE PROBLEM STATED 


53 

be that many of the geological formations, which in- 
dicate the awful throes through which the earth has 
passed, are marks of the influence of evil in nature 
struggling for the mastery. We know, furthermore, 
that the influence of evil showed itself in the animal 
kingdom prior to the appearance of man on earth. 
It is well known that Dr. Arnold had an intense love 
for flowers and plants, and yet from the animal world 
he had an instinctive shrinking. “ The whole subject/’ 
he said, “ of the brute creation is to me one of such 
painful mysteries that I dare not approach it.” Nor 
is Dr. Arnold alone in his feeling with respect to the 
brute creation. Referring to the early evidences of 
the influence of evil in the animal kingdom, Hugh 
Miller, in his “ Testimony of the Rocks,” uses the 
following language : 

“ This early exhibition of tooth, and spine, and 
sting, — of weapons constructed alike to cut and to 
pierce, — to unite two of the most indispensable requi- 
sites of the modern armourer — a keen edge to a 
stiff back; nay, stranger still, the examples furnished 
in this primeval time of weapons formed not only to 
kill but also to torture, — must be altogether at vari- 
ance with the preconceived opinions of those who 
hold, that, until man appeared in creation and dark- 
ened its sympathetic face with the stain of moral guilt, 
the reign of violence and outrage did not begin, and 
that there was no death among the inferior creatures, 
and no suffering. But preconceived opinion, whether 
it hold fast with Lactantius and the Old School men 
to the belief that there can be no antipodes, or as- 
sert with Caccini and Bellarmine that our globe hangs 
lazily in the midst of the heavens, while the sun moves 
round it, must yield ultimately to scientific truth. And 
it is a truth as certain as the existence of a Southern 


54 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

Hemisphere, or the motion of the earth around both 
of its own axes and the great solar centre, that, un- 
told ages, ere man had sinned and suffered, the ani- 
mal creation exhibited exactly its present state of 
war ; that the strong, armed with formidable weapons, 
exquisitely constructed to kill, preyed upon the weak; 
and that the weak-sheathed, many of them in defen- 
sive armour, equally admirable in its mechanism, and 
ever increasing and multiplying upon the earth far 
beyond the requirements of the mere maintenance of 
their races — were enabled to escape as species the 
assaults of the tyrant tribes, and to exist unthinned 
for unreckoned ages. It has been weakly and im- 
piously urged — as if it were merely with the geologist, 
that men had to settle this matter — that such an econ- 
omy of warfare and suffering — of warring and being 
warred upon — would be, in the words of the infant 
Goethe, unworthy of an all-powerful and all-benevo- 
lent Providence, and, in effect, a libel on his govern- 
ment and character. But the grave charge we leave 
the objectors to settle with the great Creator himself. 
Be it theirs, not ours, to 

Snatch from his hands the balance and the rod, 

Rejudge his justice, — be the god of God. 

In somewhat the same strain Count Joseph de 
Maistre says: 

“ In the vast domain of living nature, open vio- 
lence reigns, a kind of fury which arms all creation 
in mutua funera. Even in the vegetable kingdom 
we have a presentiment of the law. From the im- 
mense catalpas down to the humblest grasses how 
many plants die and how many are killed ! But when 
you enter the animal kingdom the law assumes all at 


THE PROBLEM STATED 


55 

once a fearful prominence. In each great division of 
the tribes of animal life there exists a certain number 
of animals whose occupation it is to destroy the rest. 
There are insects of prey, fishes of prey, reptiles of 
prey, birds of prey, and beasts of prey. There is not 
a moment of time when some living creature is not 
destroying or being destroyed by another.” Now, 
if in the days of our fathers any one had been appealed 
to for a solution of this mystery he would probably 
have looked for it in the fall of our first parents. Up 
to that moment he would have maintained there was 
no such thing as death or suffering in the world; 
all nature was one harmonious scene of life and peace 
and enjoyment until man’s first disobedience let loose 
the torrent of disorder and strife and destruction, not 
upon himself alone, but on the whole world around 
him. We, however, of the present generation have 
been driven to seek elsewhere for a solution of this 
mystery. The recently deciphered tablets of the earth’s 
surface have proved to us most distinctly that the 
pain and slaughter which are so rife in the animal 
world existed ages and ages before the appearance 
of the first man on the earth. And how came this 
sad state of things about? How is it to be reconciled 
with the concluding words of the first chapter of 
Genesis, “ God saw everything that He had made, 
and behold it was very good ? ” 

Covering the whole ground of man as well as the 
animal kingdom the anonymous author of “ The Rise 
and the Fall ” uses the following language : 

“ Implanted for necessary and benevolent purposes, 
they are, in their normal and balanced action, not only 
essential to the existence of the creature, but conducive 
to its happiness. Yet, as in the material universe we 
behold the same forces at one time gently wafting 


56 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

fragrance to the flower, and moistening with dew its 
delicate petals, and at another, rising into fearful 
agencies of evil to sweep the earth with ruin and ter- 
ror; so that kindly and healthful appetites, at times 
advancing with unregulated energy, expand into 
raging passions, and draw havoc and destruction in 
their train. Nor are these tendencies and results pe- 
culiar to human sensibilities. Thus it has ever been 
since sentient beings were first created. The records 
of Earth’s historic tablets teach us, that, thousands 
of ages before man waked into existence, nature had 
armed insects and reptiles with weapons of warfare 
and torture, which they wielded against each other in 
the deadly encounter of passion. Epoch on epoch 
came and went while the slow-forming world was pre- 
paring for its human tenants, which saw its seas daily 
lashed with mortal conflicts, and heard amid its pri- 
meval forests the fearful cries of rage, of suffering, 
and of violent death. So from those distant periods, 
down to the present hour, passion with the thousand 
miseries it occasions, has marked the history of all 
creatures, human and brute alike, in proportion to their 
respective capacities and opportunities for its exer- 
cise. Hence it appears that man is not alone in the 
distress, ruin and death which he suffers from natural 
appetites, and which we frequently, and in one sense 
properly, speak of as the effects of sin. The same 
evils prevailed long before sin became an inmate of 
creation, and still prevail among the animals which 
never sinned, and upon which no curse was ever de- 
nounced. Man’s experience in these respects, there- 
fore, is the same with that of all sentient beings, and 
in entire accordance with the laws of life, established 
with its first awakening in the universe.” 

Much of what, in these extracts, is suggested, can- 


THE PROBLEM STATED 


57 

not perhaps be explained at all in any satisfactory 
manner. But the facts referred to help us to under- 
stand how the existence of evil in the earth has af- 
fected alike the three kingdoms, — the mineral, the 
vegetable and the animal, — as well as man himself 
who is placed at the head of the last-named kingdom. 

It will also now be seen that any exhaustive treat- 
ment of the subject of suffering necessarily compre- 
hends not only the history of man on the earth, but 
also the history of the earth itself, as well as the 
animals which occupied the earth prior to the creation 
of man. But as my present purpose is to deal with 
man himself, I need not refer to other things, except 
so far as may be necessary for illustration and en- 
forcement of my position with respect to human his- 
tory. 

Having now settled the question that both good 
and evil existed before the introduction of man upon 
the earth, it may be well to define what is meant by 
good and what is meant by evil. The former I think 
may be generalised in the following statement. The 
good is the expression of the divine will, and therefore 
is what ought to he. Evil is practically the opposite 
of good, and is the interference with the divine will, 
and consequently it is what ought not to be. Suffer- 
ing is the result of breaking the divine will, or the 
divine law, which is only another name for the same 
thing. It will be seen, therefore, that good is har- 
mony, while evil is discord ; one makes for order, the 
other for confusion ; one is the way of light, the other 
the way of darkness ; one leads to happiness, the other 
to misery; one to life, the other to death. 

The problem to be solved is, therefore, as follows: 

How and when was the will of God broken, and 
what were the consequences which followed? Or, in 


58 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

other words, how was that which ought to he trans- 
lated into that which ought not to he , and how the 
friction produced by this translation has contributed 
to human progress ? Of course the problem here sug- 
gested involves not only the origin of evil but the 
influence of evil in human history. Some of the 
most important factors of this problem will be con- 
sidered. 

As to the exact origin of evil it may not be profit- 
able to inquire, but the problem certainly involves the 
relation of God to this evil. Is the problem capable 
of such a solution as will vindicate the Divine charac- 
ter notwithstanding the existence of evil in human his- 
tory? The Jews believed that Satan originated evil. 
They held to the notion that he was a good angel, 
and that he was sent to this world as a prince to 
minister to mankind. But they say that his jealousy 
was aroused at the sight of Adam and his pride was 
grieved by the command to serve Adam. Conse- 
quently he sought the ruin of man, and this thought 
led to the tragedy in Eden. Milton’s view of the 
matter is somewhat different. He dates the angelic 
fall a long time prior to man’s appearance on earth, 
and locates the whole transaction in Heaven. With 
this view he declares Satan was 

Hurl’d headlong flaming from the ethereal sky 

With hideous ruin and combustion, down 

To bottomless perdition. . . . 

From this “ bottomless perdition ” Satan escaped, and 
guided by Chaos he traversed the gulf of space, and 
finally landed on the earth, and then in a spirit of 
revenge, for having been cast out of Heaven, he in- 
stigated the temptation in Eden with a view to the 
ruin of man. 


THE PROBLEM STATED 59 

It is not necessary to stop here in order to decide 
which of these two views is to be preferred. Perhaps 
neither one of them is worth anything at all in the 
light of the facts of the case. Nor is it possible to 
formulate any view of the origin of evil that is en- 
tirely satisfactory, and for the reason that we are 
without any definite trustworthy revelation on the 
subject. But may not evil have been in the plan of 
God for the world ? And may it not be a necessary 
element in the law of evolution by which to reach the 
highest and best development of human life? This 
involves the real problem for our solution, and a hint 
or two now may throw some light upon it. 

Moral causes have been defined as the reasons why 
things are done or made, while physical causes are 
the forces or means by which they are made or brought 
about. In dealing with physical effects we always 
look back of the effects for the cause. This cause 
must always antedate chronologically the effect. But 
moral causes are treated exactly contrary to this 
method. We look forward for the cause instead of 
backward. In ethics we determine everything by the 
end rather than by the beginning of the process. The 
ideal is that by which we judge. Now taking this 
view of the matter we have no right to judge of evil 
as a force in the divine government by what we see 
evil to be in its beginning or even in its history. We 
must judge of it by the end in view, or by what is to 
be accomplished finally through the process of de- 
velopment towards an ideal. 

What, then, if God had at the very beginning the 
outcome of human history in His mind, and what if 
that outcome is the end to which He has been con- 
stantly working through all opposing influences, and 
that end is His own glory and the final best interest 


6o SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


of the race, or in the words of Tennyson, the “ one 
far-off divine event to which the whole creation 
moves ”? Are we then justified in claiming that God 
is not good because he has permitted evil to exist and 
used it as a means by which to reach the Summum 
Bonum, or the highest good for the human race? 
We are sometimes blinded in our ethical conceptions 
by our notions of right and wrong. To do right is 
not the highest reach of service. Surely we ought not 
to do that which we know is not right. But an ac- 
tion may be right in itself, and yet it may lead to 
nothing of any value. We must ask, after the question 
of right and wrong is settled, cui bono? or, to what 
good? This leads us to the Summum Bonum , and this 
is the end or ideal we should set before us. 

I can conceive why God could allow evil to play 
a part in the history of this earth. Doubtless He has 
looked at the whole matter from the end in view , and 
when we take this standpoint with respect to the ex- 
istence of evil, we are at once in possession of the key 
by which we may solve a thousand difficulties. 

Anyway the problem to be solved is the reconciling 
of these apparently contradictory forces so as to 
bring harmony where now discord prevails, peace for 
war, strength for weakness, and in every way the best 
interests of the race for the present degradation of 
men and the unhappy state of things which every- 
where exists. 


THE PERSONAL ELEMENT IN EVIL 


Sheltered in Christ, we are safe from the power of this 
terrible foe. There is our refuge. And though he be strong 
and mighty, yet is the Lord Jesus mightier still. And we can 
say with exultation — “Thanks be to God which giveth us the 
victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ!” 

There are critical times of danger. After great services, 
honours, and consolations, we should stand upon our guard. 
Noah, Lot, David, Solomon, fell in these circumstances. Satan 
is a foot-pad; a foot-pad will not attack a man in going to 
the bank, but in returning with his pocket full of money. — 
John Newton. 

I call’d the devil, and he came, 

And with wonder his form did I closely scan ; 

He is not ugly, and is not lame, 

But really a handsome and charming man. 

A man in the prime of life is the devil. 

Obliging, a man of the world, and civil; 

A diplomatist, well skill’d in debate, 

He talks quite glibly of church and state. 

Heine, “ Pictures of Travels. The Return Home. No. 37.” 

It is Lucifer, 

The son of mystery; 

And since God suffers him to be, 

He, too, is God’s minister, 

And labours for some good 
By us not understood. 

Longfellow, “Christus. The Golden Legend. Epilogue.” 

The prince of darkness is a gentleman. — K ing Lear. Act 
III. Sc. 4. 

This is the devil, and no monster ; I will leave him ; I have 
no long spoon.— The Tempest. Act. II. Sc. 2. 


II 


THE PERSONAL ELEMENT IN EVIL 

From the foregoing considerations we are now pre- 
pared to discuss somewhat in detail the personal ele- 
ment in the problem of evil, and consequently the 
origin of human suffering; for undoubtedly if we can 
trace the history of suffering back to its original 
source, this source will be found in evil, and evil will 
probably be found to be represented in a great per- 
sonality denominated in the Scriptures, Ho Satanos, 
or Ho Diabolos. 

Nor is there anything unphilosophical in this con- 
clusion. We cannot conceive of either good or evil 
without associating it with will, and we cannot con- 
ceive of will without associating it with personality. 
In fact personality must be predicated in every prob- 
lem where moral conditions are present, and moral 
conditions are always present in the problem of good 
and evil. 

The great philosopher, Immanuel Kant, affirmed 
that “ There is nothing good but the good will,” and 
that this is good in itself, not with reference to any 
external fact. Now if this statement be true it is 
reasonable to conclude that there is nothing bad but 
the bad will, and as this bad will must be located in 
personality, we must look for the bad or evil where 
this will resides. 

This fact at once introduces the doctrine of the 
existence of a personal devil. Doubtless the explana- 
tion of evil from this personal point of view has been 
63 


64 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

frequently greatly abused. But this, I think, cannot 
be received as satisfactory evidence against the truth 
that is involved. Nearly everything has been abused. 
Even Christianity has not escaped in this particular. 
Some of the grossest outrages on good society and 
the best interests of humanity have been committed 
in the name of the Christian religion. Is the Chris- 
tian religion false on that account? And must we 
henceforth regard it as a myth of the Dark Ages, 
whose influence has always been most felt where ig- 
norance and superstition most largely prevailed? If 
such is our method of reasoning, then we may as 
well, at once, give up all hope of reaching just con- 
clusions with regard to anything, and content our- 
selves with repeating the sentiment of the poet, 

“ Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise.” 

And yet those who argue against the doctrine of a 
personal Devil, because they can refer to periods in 
history when this doctrine was greatly abused, are 
guilty of precisely the same kind of logical fallacy as 
in the case we have supposed against Christianity. 
The truth is, this question cannot be settled by any 
such methods of reasoning. It is not a question as to 
how the doctrine has influenced the world, either for 
good or evil, but it is a question of fact, and must 
therefore be determined, like all questions of this kind, 
by proper and legitimate testimony. What, then, is 
the testimony on this subject? 

The existence of evil, though accounted for in vari- 
ous ways, is a fact so self-evident and so constantly 
present in human history as never to have been desired. 
Origen regarded it as only the negation of good; 
Leibnitz, as threefold, — metaphysical, physical and 
moral ; Kant, as twofold, — absolute and relative ; 
that is, opposed to the absolutely or the relatively good. 


THE PERSONAL ELEMENT IN EVIL 65 

But, whatever may be the explanation, it is always 
conceded that evil exists, that it is a terrible fact in 
human history, and that it can not be eliminated from 
that history by any explanation that may be given. But 
there is a question still behind this, that has occupied 
the most thoughtful consideration of the wisest philos- 
ophers and theologians of all ages. I refer to the 
origin or source of evil. 

In explanation of this, the two theories, most 
dominant among mankind prior to the Christian era, 
were the Dualistic and Pantheistic theories, and these 
have had their respective advocates ever since, even 
among Christian philosophers. 

The Dualistic theory is of great antiquity, and is 
of Oriental origin, though it is not certain with whom 
it first originated. It is found to-day as a prominent 
element in at least two of the oldest and most widely 
spread religions of the East; namely, Parseeism and 
Buddhism. 

According to this theory, “ good and evil are two 
distinct essences, produced by two original principles, 
one of good, and one of evil — from whose agency all 
the good and evil existing in the world have respec- 
tively flowed.” This theory assumes two distinct 
forms: 

1. Parseeism. In the religion of the ancient Per- 
sians it is affirmed that the universe was created by 
two rival powers, Ormuz and Ahriman — that is, light 
and darkness — the latter of which, though in no par- 
ticular subordinate to the former, is somewhat in- 
ferior, and is destined finally to be overcome. This 
view has had a wide influence on the religions of the 
world, and is one of the prominent doctrines of the 
Zend Avesta. 

2. Hylism. This taught that matter is an original 


66 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


principle of evil, co-existent from eternity with God, 
and was regarded as either feminine and passive, — 
as in the Chinese cosmogony, — or as neuter, — a kind 
of formless mass, as among the Greeks. 

This is really the root of modern Materialism. 
Starting with this physical idea of evil, it is not strange 
that many have carried the doctrine to its logical 
consequences. The grossest Materialism is its legiti- 
mate offspring. 

The Pantheistic theory does not treat evil as some- 
thing essentially different from good, but regards good 
and evil as only varying manifestations of the orig- 
inal principle. This is the basis of Brahminism, 
the religion of India, and has appeared, in a modified 
form in several places since the Christian era. In 
the seventeenth century it appeared in the philosophy 
of Spinoza, and in the nineteenth in the philosophy 
of Schelling. 

As a system, Pantheism denies not only the ex- 
istence of a personal Devil, but also of a personal 
God. It makes God the soul of the world, and is 
therefore distinguished, on the one hand, from Ma- 
terialism, according to which God and nature are im- 
mediately identical; and, on the other hand, from 
Theism, which ascribes creation to a personal God. 
It is easy to see how such a philosophy as this would 
at once repudiate the doctrine of a personal Devil; 
and it is easy to see, furthermore, why it should be 
selected as the most promising battleground on which 
to successfully meet this doctrine. 

This Pantheistic theory is just now assuming con- 
siderable importance, especially in several of the 
countries of Europe. For the last fifty years it has 
been very popular in Germany, though there is at this 
time growing up a very decided reaction against it. 


THE PERSONAL ELEMENT IN EVIL 67 

The decline of Rationalism in the universities is, of 
course, followed by a corresponding change of opinion 
on this subject; for Rationalism is really the offspring 
of the Pantheistic philosophy. This theory, to a 
certain class of minds, has some very special attrac- 
tions. It is claimed for it that it is both historical and 
reasonable. It is historical, because the primitive 
races of mankind knew nothing of evil as an essen- 
tially different thing from good; and that, as men 
become more and more enlightened, they will, in the 
same ratio, adopt the primitive idea. Whether these 
high claims can be sustained or not will be determined 
after we have stated the Bible view of the subject. 

It is generally believed by Bible students that the 
Holy Scriptures clearly teach the following: 

1. That all evil, if not caused, is propagated and 
fearfully used by a malignant spirit hostile to God, and 
called the Devil, or Satan. (See 1 John iii, 8.) 

2. That God, therefore, is Himself the author of 
evil only in the sense that, being able to prevent it, 
he has permitted it to exist. (See Isaiah xlv, 7; 
I Kings xxii, 22.) 

3. That, though permitted by God to exist, Satan 
is still under control, and made subservient to the 
Divine purpose. (See Proverbs xvi, 4.) 

4. That God will ultimately overrule the machina- 
tions of Satan to his own glory, when all evil will be 
seen by us to have been in complete accordance with 
perfect order and supreme rectitude. (See Romans 
ix, 22, 23.) 

We have here what may be regarded as a complete 
summary of what many believe to be the Bible teach- 
ing as to the origin of evil, and its relations to God 
and humanity; and this Bible teaching, is thought 
to be of primary importance in coming to any just 


68 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

conclusions about the matter; for, just as soon as 
we rule the Bible testimony out, we are completely 
at sea, without the possibility of reaching any safe 
landing place. It becomes us, therefore, to study 
with the most profound reverence and critical atten- 
tion, what the Bible says upon the subject. We ask, 
therefore, the reader’s earnest attention to the doc- 
trine of the Devil, as we find it in the Word of God, 
without any regard as to the general notion as to 
what that word teaches. 

Passing over the Jewish Scriptures for the present, 
we find in the New Testament the word Diabolos, or 
Devil, thirty-eight times. Of these, thirty-four are 
preceded by the definite article the , and without doubt, 
refer to the great Adversary, to whom we have at- 
tributed the origin of evil. Of the remaining four 
cases, one is where Jesus calls one of the twelve a 
devil, not the Devil; and the other three are where 
Paul applies the term to men and women, such as 
do not restrain their tongues. Thus it will be seen 
that we have Ho Diabolos thirty-four times ; diabolos , 
without the article, applied to Judas, a false accuser 
and slanderer, once; and three times to designate 
slanderers, false accusers; etc. (i Timothy iii, n; 2 
Timothy iii, 3; Titus ii, 3.) Hence, we have in the 
New Testament the word Devil, as a proper name, 
thirty-four times, and always applied to Ho Satanos , 
the great Adversary of human souls. 

The word Satan occurs thirty-seven times in the 
New Testament, and only twice without the article, 
in both of which cases it is applied to Peter, as an 
adversary. 

Thus we reach the inevitable conclusion that the 
New Testament recognises a malignant personality, 
hostile to God and bent on the ruin of man. To 


THE PERSONAL ELEMENT IN EVIL 69 

deny this conclusion is to set at naught the plainest 
meaning of the Greek language, which, with singular 
exactness, puts the personality of Satan beyond the 
possibility of successful controversy. 

The fact that we have ascribed evil to a malignant 
spirit called, in the Bible, Satan, at once suggests 
the inquiry as to his origin. He comes definitely 
into human history in the Garden of Eden. He there 
plays the part of a tempter in leading Adam and Eve 
away from the Divine commandment. But what was 
his antecedent history? How came he an evil spirit, 
in open rebellion against the government of God? It 
is more than probable we can not answer these ques- 
tions with entire satisfaction. But this should not in 
any way weaken our faith in the present existence of 
such a being. We can not satisfactorily explain the 
origin of very many of the most obvious facts of his- 
tory; but our ignorance as to the origin of these 
does not break down our faith in their existence. 
With all the boasted advance of natural science very 
few things can yet be traced to their origin, and that 
origin thoroughly understood. Rationalists often 
make themselves exceedingly silly, and stultify their 
own theories, by rejecting the revelation of God, be- 
cause there are some things in that revelation which 
they cannot satisfactorily account for. 

I state all this, because I wish it distinctly under- 
stood that the existence of a personal Devil is in no 
way dependent on whether we can or can not explain 
the origin of such a being. It is quite enough to know 
that such a being had an existence contemporaneous 
with the first man, and that through his instrumental- 
ity sin was introduced into human history. That 
sin is in existence can not be denied, and no philosophy 
can, a priori, contradict its history; neither can any 


70 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

philosophy deny it, a posteriori; and it is just as dif- 
ficult to account for this as for the origin of Satan. 
In fact, it is easier to account for the history of sin, 
on the hypothesis I have suggested, than on any 
other. 

Nevertheless, there are places in the Scriptures that 
give us at least a suggestion as to the origin of Satan. 
That he was an angel of high rank, there can be 
little doubt; and that he fell from this position and 
became the wicked, malignant spirit he now is, is also 
just as certain. But precisely how he fell, what in- 
fluences operated upon him to produce his fall, and 
how far this fall affected the spiritual world, as it 
then existed, are questions that may never be deter- 
mined with absolute certainty by the light which we 
now possess. We read of “ angels that kept not their 
first estate,” that were “ cast down to hell ” ; and as 
Satan was evidently a leader among these, it is prob- 
able that in his rebellion against God he carried with 
him a portion of the angel world. Some have thought 
that pride was the moving cause in his rebellion. 
This may have been so. Thirst for power has always 
been a ruling motive with great intelligences. It may 
have been that Satan’s ambition was the prime cause 
of his final overthrow as one of the angels. 

But, as before remarked, we are not so much con- 
cerned with these questions as we are with the actual 
existence of Satan to-day as the representative and 
instigator of evil. And it is in this light that I ask 
the reader to consider him ; for it is in this light that 
the Bible reveals him, “ going up and down the earth 
seeking whom he may devour,” and it is just this 
fact of his personal existence that we have so clearly 
indicated in the Greek of the New Testament Scrip- 
tures. Ho Diabolos stands out as a distinct and definite 


THE PERSONAL ELEMENT IN EVIL 71 

personality, and no sentimental sophistry will likely 
ever overthrow this conclusion. 

Unfortunately for us, we have another word in the 
New Testament which is almost uniformly translated 
Devil. I refer to the word Daimoon. This word with 
its families, occurs seventy-nine times in the New Tes- 
tament, and is always translated devil or devils in the 
common version with a single exception, found in 
Acts xvii, where it is translated “ gods.” This fact 
is certainly very significant, and suggests at once the 
origin of much of the confusion in the public mind 
on this subject. Clearly, no well-defined conception 
of the Devil can be had from the New Testament 
unless we properly discriminate between Diabolos and 
Daimoon. This is just what the common version does 
not do, and, hence, the ignorance of the people in 
reference to this important matter. But if we will 
constantly keep before our minds the following points, 
we will be enabled to arrive at very satisfactory con- 
clusions : 

1. Diabolos, translated devil, and Daimonion, which 
ought always to be translated demon, are, in their 
New Testament use, never confounded. The one is 
never in any case substituted for the other, notwith- 
standing they occur, when taken together, ninety-four 
times in the New Testament. 

2. Daimonion is as constantly indefinite as Diabolos 
is definite. Devil is always preceded by the definite 
article “ the ” ; Daimoon never, except when some par- 
ticular one is named in reference to a special case. 

3. Diabolos, or the Devil, is never, in the Bible, 
said to take possession of anyone. 

4. Demons are constantly represented as malignant 
and unclean spirits, and to their influence is ascribed 
“ dumbness,” “deafness,” “palsy,” “epilepsy,” etc. 


72 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

5. Paul teaches that the things, which the Gentiles 
sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God; 
and as we know that the Gentiles did sacrifice to hero- 
gods, we conclude that these hero-gods were demons, 
or the spirits of dead men. 

That the New Testament is not peculiar in these 
respects we need only refer to the Demonology of the 
world. All nations have more or less recognised the 
New Testament doctrine of demons. The words Dai - 
moon and Daimonion are used by both profane and 
sacred writers as synonymous, and by the first class 
of writers, with considerable latitude of meaning. 
While we may not be able to determine with definite 
certainty what these demons are, the following facts 
will be sufficient for all practical purposes: 

1. The demons of the Gentiles were of two kinds. 
The one were the souls of dead men. The souls of 
good men, upon their departure from the body, were 
called heroes, after which they were raised to the 
dignity of demons, and then to that of gods. (Plut., 
De Defect. Orac.) It was also believed that the 
souls of bad men became evil demons. Hence, Dai- 
monion often occurs in ancient authors as a term of 
reproach. The other kind of demons never inhabited 
human bodies, and were therefore of more noble 
origin. 

2. These demons occupied a middle ground between 
gods and mortals. Plato says : “ Every demon is a 
middle being between God and mortals and then 
explains what he means by a middle being as follows : 

“ God is not approached immediately by man, but 
all commerce and intercourse between gods and men 
are performed by the mediation of demons.” Hence, 
“ demons are reporters, and carriers from men to the 
gods, and again from the gods to men, of the suppli- 


THE PERSONAL ELEMENT IN EVIL 73 

cations and prayers of the one, and of the injunctions 
and rewards of devotion from the other.” (Plato, 
Sympos.) 

3. Josephus uses the word demon always in a bad 
sense. He distinctly declares, “ That demons are no 
other than the spirits of the wicked, that enter into 
men and kill them, unless they can obtain some help 
against them.” He makes no reference to the other 
view as held by heathen writers. 

4. Turning now to the New Testament again, and 
examining such passages as Matt, viii, 16 ; x, 1 ; xii, 
43-45; Mark ix, 20; Luke x, 20; Mark i, 24; Luke 
iv, 34; James ii, 19; ii, 14; Matt, viii, 28-32; Mark ix, 
26; Eph. vi, 12; we find whatever else these demons 
may have been, they were spirits, and had intelligence 
and will, but, as to personality, they were never con- 
founded with the prince of demons, Ho Diabolos. 

The question of demonology is not only clearly set 
forth in the New Testament, but it soon became a 
prominent factor in the history of the Church. Dr. 
Adolph Harnack, in his admirable treatise on “ The 
Expansion of Christianity in the First Three Cen- 
turies,” devotes considerable space in discussing the 
influence of demonology upon the early development 
of Christianity. In reading what he says one is sur- 
prised at the faith of these early Christians in the 
power of demons to produce disorder in the world. 
Two writers have given us circumstantial details con- * 
cerning the prevalence of the belief in demons during 
their times. I refer to Tatian and Tertullian, the 
latter of whom gives a long account of how the Ex- 
orcists were instrumental in casting out demons from 
Pagans, and in this way were able to advance the 
cause of Christianity. 

Perhaps the most interesting discussion on this sub- 


74 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

ject is that between Celsus and Origen, since these 
men occupied the highest position with respect to cul- 
ture. Celsus charged that Christians are jugglers, 
or sorcerers, or both ; Christ was also a master of de- 
moniac arts. Origen devoted considerable space in 
controverting the very serious charges that had been 
made. He appealed to the unquestionable fact that 
all of Christ’s works were intended to benefit men and 
did actually do this. This was not true with magi- 
cians. Nevertheless, Origen practically admitted the 
prevalence of faith in demonology among the Chris- 
tians. 

Nor should we regard it as a strange thing that 
the early Christians entertained the belief ascribed to 
them. Even in modern times it is probable that very 
few people are entirely free from a belief in demonol- 
ogy. In any case it is certain that many modern 
Christians are what we call superstitious, and are 
therefore under the conviction that they are influenced 
by some evil occult forces which they ascribe to the 
supernatural. 

But it is perhaps not necessary to add anything 
further with respect to this particular matter. In 
view of what has been stated I think we can now 
affirm, with considerable emphasis, that the New Tes- 
tament distinction between the Devil and demons is 
well established, and is fatal to the whole Pantheistic 
philosophy concerning the origin of evil. While the 
doctrine of demons, as it is understood by Pantheists, 
may not be inconsistent with the historical notions of 
our modern evolutionists, the fact of a personal Devil, 
wholly distinct from demons, remains yet unexplained, 
and can not be explained, so far as I can see, on 
either the Dualistic or Pantheistic theories. 

That the Bible Devil has personality, is shown not 


THE PERSONAL ELEMENT IN EVIL 75 

only from the considerations already presented, but 
also from the following facts : 

(1). He has a mind ascribed to him. The fact that 
he designs clearly implies the possession of a mind. 
Hence, when we read of his moving David to number 
Israel (2 Samuel xxiv:i) ; putting into the hearts of 
Ananias and Sapphira to lie to the Holy Ghost (Acts 
v, 3) ; desiring to sift Peter as wheat (Luke xxii, 31) ; 
tempting Christ (Mark i, 13) ; and deceiving the 
whole world (Rev. xii, 9) ; we cannot doubt, for a 
moment, that all this implies mind, and that too of 
unusual strength. 

2. He is said to exercise dominion. He is denomi- 
nated “ the god of this world, the prince of the power 
of the air ” (Eph, ii, 2) ; also, “ the Devil and his 
angels ” (Matt, xxv, 41) ; and he is said to work in 
the children of disobedience ( Eph. ii, 2). 

3. He is known by several names. Besides the 
names Devil and Satan he is called “ The Adversary,” 
“Apollyon,” “ Beelzebub,” “ Belial,” “ Dragon,” “ Ser- 
pent,” and “ Lucifer.” The following titles are also 
assigned to him in the New Testament: “ The angel of 
the bottomless pit” (Rev. ix, 11); “ The prince of 
devils” (Matt, xii, 24) ; “The prince of this world” 
(2 Cor. iv, 4) ; “ The accuser of our brethren ” (Rev. 
xiirio; “The tempter” — Ho peiradsoon — (Matt, iv: 
3); “The deceiver” — Ho piano on — (Rev. xii :g). 

4. There are works ascribed to him. We read of 
“ the working of Satan ” (2 Thess. ii, 9) ; and “ the 
works of the Devil” (1 John iii, 8). 

5. He is likewise represented as possessing charac- 
ter. We are told that he is a deceiver. (Rev. xii, 9), 
and a murderer (John viii, 44). He is also described 
as “the wicked one ” (1 John iii, 12) ; as a liar (John 
viii, 44) ; and the tempter (Matt, iv, 3). 


7 6 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

6. He is declared to exercise the faculty of will. 
Paul speaks of persons caught in “the snare of the 
Devil, who are taken captive at his will ” (2 Tim. i, 
26) ; and this faculty is clearly implied in many other 
passages. 

7. And finally, a fate is assigned to him. He is, 
with all his angels, delivered into chains of darkness, 
reserved unto judgment (2 Peter ii, 4) ; and “ ever- 
lasting fire ” is prepared for him (Matt, xxv, 41). 

It will be seen, from this induction of references in 
the Scriptures, that attributes, character, names, ac- 
tions, and the fate of a person, are all ascribed to the 
Devil. 

The sacred writers use all the forms of personal 
agency in setting forth the character and conduct 
of Satan. They describe him as having power 
and dominion, messengers and followers. He exer- 
cises those qualities of mind which can only be predi- 
cated of personality. He tempts and resists, is held 
accountable and charged with guilt. Finally, there 
is to be a day of reckoning for him. He is to be 
judged, and to receive punishment. 

Now, it seems to me that the most imaginative 
mind can scarcely escape the conclusion that the Bible 
gives to the great Adversary a very distinct and defi- 
nite personality. I furthermore, believe that no 
scientific interpretation of the Bible can possibly reach 
any other conclusion. To assume that all the passages 
of Scripture referred to are to be understood meta- 
phorically, is to practically deny the real existence of 
a spiritual universe. What do we know of God and 
of angels? Have we seen them at any time? Are 
we not wholly dependent upon their revealed attri- 
butes, characters, names, works and states for all the 
knowledge we have concerning them? Now, Satan 


THE PERSONAL ELEMENT IN EVIL 77 

is represented as possessing all these, and hence, it is 
just as legitimate to ascribe to him personality as to 
ascribe it to God, Christ or Gabriel. And then it 
should be remembered that nowhere in the Bible is his 
personality denied. There is not the slightest hint 
given, from the beginning of Genesis to the last of Rev- 
elation, that he is simply a metaphorical being — a sort 
of representation of the principle of evil, or only a 
theological scarecrow for the benefit of imaginative 
revivalists, or cross old women who wish to force 
obedience from their unruly children. True, the first 
representation we have of Satan is in the form of a 
serpent. But this in no way militates against the doc- 
trine of his personality. What do we know of the 
forms of spiritual beings? Why is it incompatible 
with their natures to appear on this scene of action 
in any form they may choose? Pantheists may make 
light of the scene of Eden to their heart’s content, but, 
while it remains true that God himself has appeared 
in human form, we must ask to be excused, if we 
fail to see anything particularly absurd and unhis- 
torical in the assumption that Satan actually appeared 
in the form of a serpent in his first conflict with the 
human race. 

We are aware that Pantheistic philosophers are not 
very partial to personality, even when ascribed to 
God himself. In this respect, at least, they are con- 
sistent; for the same line of reasoning which will 
destroy the personality of the Devil will also destroy 
the Personality of God. And when we assume that 
Satan, hell, everlasting punishment, etc., are all only 
figures of speech, it does not take long to come to 
the conclusion that God, heaven, eternal life, etc., are 
likewise figures of speech. Thus we would reduce the 
whole Bible to a sort of fanciful poetry, and its most 


78 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

solemn and awful words to little more than the play- 
things of the imagination. 

What sad havoc does this method of interpretation 
make of God’s Word! We have been accustomed to 
regard the Scriptures as teaching, upon their very 
surface, the existence of two great spiritual armies — 
God and His angels on one side and the Devil and 
his angels on the other — and that the mission of Christ 
to man was to destroy the works of the Devil, and 
bring salvation to a lost and ruined world. But if 
this Pantheistic method of interpretation be accepted, 
then there is great truth in the words of Strauss, when 
he says : “ If Christ is come to destroy the works of 
the Devil, he need not have come, if there is no 
Devil; if there is a Devil, but only as the personifica- 
tion of an evil principle, then we are satisfied with a 
Christ as an impersonal idea.” Furthermore, on the 
Pantheistic hypothesis, it is not longer necessary to 
recognise a supernatural redemption ; for, if we assert 
that we have no other strife except against “ flesh and 
blood,” and that sin only springs from man himself, 
without recognising a superhuman power of evil, then 
the tragic scene of Calvary was not only a most ridicu- 
lous farce, but becomes a stigma upon the character 
of God himself, in permitting his own Son to endure 
such painful agony, when there was no other purpose 
in view than a sort of exhibition of fortitude, as an 
example for the world. It may be that such wild 
interpretations of Scripture, as we have indicated, will 
lead superficial thinkers to make merry over the dogma 
of a personal Devil, but it will be a long while before 
thoughtful and serious people will see in this merri- 
ment an explanation of the conscious fact of sin, as 
well as its terrible consequences, as revealed in the 
Bible. 


THE PERSONAL ELEMENT IN EVIL 79 

It has now become fashionable to say that the Devil 
of modern times was not known in the primitive age 
of the world; in fact, was not known, even in Jewish 
history, until after their return from their captivity 
in Babylon. Now, it is freely admitted that the Old 
Testament says very little about the Devil, and yet 
what it does say, fixes his personality beyond the 
possibility of a doubt. The scene in Eden has already 
been referred to. But this is not all. No one, I think, 
can read the trial of Job, and witness the machinations 
of the evil one, who not only appeared among the 
children of God, but who actually talked with Job 
face to face, without feeling that any interpretation 
which would exclude a personal Devil from this his- 
tory would do such violence to language as to make 
all intelligible communication simply impossible. 
Then, there are other instances, such as tempting 
David to number Israel, that make it very evident 
that the Jews had at least some idea of Satan’s char- 
acter, even before the Babylonish captivity. 

The argument of modern Rationalists is that the 
Persian Dualism was the source of the historic Devil 
among the Jews. But why not assume that the Jew- 
ish notion of the Devil was the source of the Persian 
Dualism? Certainly, the book of Job can lay claim 
to as much antiquity as the Zend Avesta. In fact, 
there are not a few scholars who are ready to believe 
that Job himself was no other than the Old Testament 
Melchizedeck. But, however this may be, there is no 
trustworthy proof that the Jews received their notions 
of Satan from the Persian theology. A great deal 
of doubtful criticism has been written and spoken on 
this subject. The Persian Dualism is very different, 
in many important particulars, from the Jewish idea. 
There are some points of similarity, but these are 


8o SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


insignificant compared with the points of difference, 
We notice, (i). That Judaism held to a pure Theism, 
( 2 ) It held to the absolute sovereignty of God. These 
two things, so prominent in Judaism, made it next to 
impossible for the Jews to accept the Persian Dual- 
ism. 

Some make a point to which I wish to call special 
attention. They emphasise the fact that the idea of 
a Devil has been exceedingly prominent in general 
history. Now, I would like to ask how it is that that 
idea came into existence? Men tell us that it was not 
found in the primitive age of the world, but was an 
after-thought, when men had found it necessary to 
provide some such being, in order to account for the 
disorders of mankind. Let us see if Paul does not 
give us a better explanation of the matter than this, 
In the first chapter of Romans he says : 

“ For the wrath of God is revealed from heavei, 
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, 
who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Because that 
which may be known of God is manifest in them ; for 
God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible 
things of him from the creation of the world are 
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are 
made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that 
they are without excuse. Because that, when they 
knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were 
thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and 
their foolish heart was darkened. Professing them- 
selves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the 
glory of the incorruptible God into an image made 
like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed 
beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave 
them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own 
hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between them- 


THE PERSONAL ELEMENT IN EVIL 81 

selves. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, 
and worshipped and served the creature more than 
the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” 

It will be seen by these statements that men lost 
the knowledge of even God Himself at a very early 
period in their history — that is, “ they changed the 
glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like 
to corruptible man, and to birds and to four-footed 
beasts, and to creeping things.” They did not lose 
all idea of God, but they lost the true idea of Him. 
In the dispersion of mankind, this corrupted idea of 
the Deity was carried into different parts of the 
world, and doubtless furnished the germ for the sub- 
sequent development of the various religions of the 
East 

This is a point which I think has not been sufficiently 
considered. In looking for the origin of religions, the 
only safe starting-place is the dispersion after the 
Flood. At that time, doubtless, mankind had a com- 
mon religion, and this religion was received from the 
true and living God. But after the dispersion, the va- 
rious modifying circumstances, to which the several 
nations were exposed, changed this original religion 
into the religions which afterward ruled the world. 
Hence, all the old religions, such as Brahminism, Par- 
seeism, Buddhism, etc., are corruptions of the religion 
which men had when from Bable they were driven into 
various parts of the world. This fact not only ac- 
counts for image worship, but also for the Monothe- 
istic idea which is so prominent in the older religions. 

Now, it is easy to see how an inherited tradition of 
Satan may have also exerted itself in shaping the de- 
velopment of human history. Doubtless, there was at 
first a very distinct revelation of the Satanic charac- 
ter ; but the true idea gradually became lost in various 


82 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


superstitions, until the Satanology of many nations 
became just equal to their demonology. And it was 
not until the New Testament brought out clearly the 
distinction between Diabolos and Daimoon that a re- 
action began toward a true Satanology. 

I think we have here the key also to the excesses 
of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in refer- 
ence to Satanic influence. With the downfall of 
primitive Christianity came a perverted idea of Satan, 
and this led to the burning of witches, and all the 
abominations which disgraced our humanity during 
the reign of ignorance and superstition. These ex- 
cesses started another reaction ; and as “ extremes be- 
get extremes,” we will have to be careful, unless this 
reaction will carry us too far. This is our present 
danger, and it is worth while to guard against it. 

But to return to the reasons why so little is said 
about Satan in the Old Testament. I think it is easy 
to see that no prominent mention was needed in the 
history of the remedial system, until the time had come 
when the “ seed of the woman,” was to “ bruise the 
serpent’s head ” ; or, in other words, until the coming 
of Christ, when a sharp and vigorous contest would 
be inaugurated between good and evil, light and dark- 
ness, the power of Satan and the power of God. 

Then there is another reason why so little is said 
about Satan in the Old Testament. The rewards and 
punishments of the Jewish system were purely tem- 
poral — they did not look beyond this life. In fact, 
it is doubtful whether the Jews had as vivid concep- 
tion of a future life as they had of a personal Devil. 
At any rate, it is certain that their law made little 
or no provision for such a life. In such a system it 
was not necessary to make prominent the true idea of 
the origin of evil. But under the Christian dispensa- 


THE PERSONAL ELEMENT IN EVIL 83 

tion, rewards and punishment are largely reserved for 
the future. The present is a state of self-denial and 
struggle ; the future, the time of dispensing “ to every 
man according as his works have been.” The revela* 
tion of God in Christ is that of an incarnate God, and 
along with this comes the revelation of a very distinct 
personality of him who is the adversary of both God 
and man. 

While the Jewish age lasted, a clear discovery of 
the proper mystery of unrighteousness would have 
been premature, and would doubtless have promoted 
the worship of demons in Israel, thereby seriously 
injuring Monotheism which was, at that age of the 
world, the only safety against idol worship and its 
ten thousand accompanying evils. So it appears to 
us that it was precisely in harmony with the true law 
of development that little should be said about Satan 
in the religion of the Jews. In this connection the 
following suggestion, by Professor Townsend, may 
help to account for the little that is said of Satan in 
the Old Testament: 

“ If we mistake not, God has been infinitely merci- 
ful to Satan, and has tried every way to effect his 
restoration. If we reason correctly, God waited 
thousands of years, even until the coming of Christ, 
for this child, this wayward prodigal, to return. It 
was not until longer forbearance would have been 
an offense to the universe, that Satan was pronounced 
an irrecoverable reprobate. Through thousands of 
years he grew no better ; nay seems to have become 
worse and worse. During the life of Jesus, the 
Satanic spirit rose to its height. Satan saw, no doubt, 
that unless he conquered Jesus in the wilderness, or 
on the pinnacle of the temple, or on the mountain top, 
or in the Garden of Gethsemane, his habitation on 


84 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

earth must end ; it was in those mad, reckless, and ter- 
rible endeavours to destroy the only innocent being 
who has walked on this earth since Adam, that Satan 
forfeited all claim to further probation and mercy. He 
did irreparable damage to his moral character. Blas- 
phemy, the worst type possible, completed his guilt. 
His cup of iniquity was filled to the brim. He com- 
mitted the unpardonable sin. He fell as lightning from 
heaven, never again to enter it.” 

But no matter whether these explanations be correct 
or not, if we accept the New Testament as our rule of 
faith and practice, we are bound to accept the fact 
of a personal Devil, as the instigator if not the author 
of evil, unless we do violence to all the plainest laws of 
interpretation, and give ourselves up to a mythical 
theory which would destroy every promise and hope 
of the Bible. Hence, it will be seen that a decision 
on this question involves vastly more than has been 
supposed by some. The credibility of the Word of 
God is clearly involved, and this fact, I think, at once 
justifies the notice I have taken of the matter. 

It is easy enough to dismiss this entire question 
with a few sentimental platitudes, if we wish to tickle 
the popular fancy and weaken the hold of God’s Word 
on the people. But if we wish to be faithful to that 
Book which is the “ lamp to our feet and light to 
our path,” then we must not accept interpretations 
which virtually destroy the Bible, and leave us on the 
ocean of life without either chart or compass. In 
view of all these facts, may we not ask, is not the 
“ wish father of the thought,” with those who try to 
get rid of a personal Devil? That this is often the 
case, I think there can be no question. The unre- 
generate heart will never cheerfully accept those pas- 
sages of Scripture which bring it into condemnation 


THE PERSONAL ELEMENT IN EVIL 85 

and expose it to eternal ruin. And it is much easier 
to deal in sentimental sophistries than surrender the 
heart to the plain teachings of the Gospel; hence the 
tendency to explain away a personal Devil, and all that 
side of the Bible that looks to the future punishment 
of the wicked. Men accept the dark side of things in 
the natural world, because they can not reason against 
what is an every-day experience ; but, at the same time, 
they assume to reject a view of God’s moral govern- 
ment which is supported not only by analogy but 
also by the most obvious interpretations of God’s 
Word. Truly is error always inconsistent even with 
itself. 

A recent book is especially able in its treatment of 
Satanic transformations, or the various changes in 
form which the Devil is supposed to have assumed 
in different countries and different ages of the world. 
It gives us some very grotesque pictures of his Satanic 
Majesty. It tells us how the idea of the Devil has 
been evolved out of the struggle of men with their 
own necessities, and how that idea has taken on differ- 
ent forms and characteristics, until the Devil of the 
nineteenth century was fitly represented by the Me- 
phistopheles of Goethe’s “ Faust.” All of this is quite 
interesting and instructive, but we are of the opinion 
that in it the author “ budded wiser than he knew.” 
For, if what has been already said, concerning the fall 
of man, and his subsequent loss of all correct knowl- 
edge of the spiritual universe, be true, then we might 
reasonably expect precisely the state of things as 
described. With only a traditional knowledge of 
Satan, it is not strange that the various races of men 
should have personified their ideal Devil according to 
the circumstances of the different ages of the world. 
But all this proves the existence of a real, personal 


86 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


Devil, just as the same line of argument proves the 
existence of an uncreated God. Notice, I do not say 
that this proves the necessity of a Devil, as it does 
the necessity of a God, but only that it is the same 
line of argument which philosophers employ to reach 
the conclusion that there is a God. If, because the 
idea of a God is generally diffused among mankind, 
it is inferred that such a being exists, the same argu- 
ment ought to hold good in proving the existence of a 
Devil, since the idea of a Devil, in some form, is so 
prevalent in the world. 

But let no one conclude from this that the existence 
of a God makes the existence of a Devil necessary. 
Because there is a sun that gives light, it does not 
follow that there must be another sun to give dark- 
ness. For the very reason that we find what Cole- 
ridge calls the “ law of the opposites ” in all depart- 
ments of the physical world, we must be careful not 
to assume that the existence of any one thing abso- 
lutely requires the existence of its opposite, much less 
shall we hasten to the conclusion as to what that 
opposite certainly is. Those who claim that evil is 
only the opposite of good — a sort of negative thing 
like darkness — have surely a poor conception of the 
nature of evil. We think it has very positive quali- 
ties, and this is just why it is to be so much dreaded ; 
and it is for the same reason that Satan, as the per- 
sonal representative of evil, is capable of bringing 
such ruin on the human race. 

The fact that different ages and different nations 
have given us different personifications of Satan, is 
no proof against his existence. The idea of a God 
has been subject to the same transformations. All this 
is partially explained by the considerations already 
presented in reference to man’s losing the correct idea 


THE PERSONAL ELEMENT IN EVIL 87 

of spiritual things. But in case of the Devil it is 
further explained by the fact that he has always mani- 
fested himself in whatever manner would best sub- 
serve his purposes. If he can deceive the people most 
readily by making them believe in almost everything, 
as in the Middle Ages, when superstition reigned su- 
preme, and when witchcraft was the bete noire of all 
good men, we may rest assured that this is precisely the 
way in which he will work. But if the revival of learn- 
ing leads the minds of the people out of darkness into 
light, and breaks their faith in superstition, then it is 
the policy of the Devil to break their faith also in 
whatever is good and true. Hence, he appears just 
now most prominently in the skepticism of the age; 
and it is through the Rationalistic protest against 
faith, and the constant demand for scientific demon- 
stration in everything, that he expects at this time to 
lead the world “ captive at his will.” Surely, it is 
time we had come to understand this matter, and I 
am really thankful for having our attention called by 
a recent writer to Mephistopheles as the Devil of the 
present century. I think this characterisation will help 
us to more thoroughly prepare for the conflict that is 
now pending between skepticism and Christianity — a 
conflict which is becoming more and more intense 
around the very matters we are considering. 

I am inclined to think that the Mephistopheles of 
“ Faust ” is not far from the Bible representation of 
the Devil. Evidently, the Diabolos of the Bible is a 
being possessed of an overtowering intellect, without 
any heart ; a head full of knowledge, without a particle 
of conscience ; designing, crafty, and cunning, without 
any moral restraints to keep him from carrying out 
his most fiendish purposes. 

Mephistopheles is not unlike this Bible Devil. And 


88 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


if he is Goethe’s personification of modern skepticism, 
as is represented by some writers, then it is unques- 
tionably true that the skepticism of this age may claim 
close kinship with the Satan of the Bible. 

But just here it is time we should stop and inquire, 
Can we risk the conclusions of an investigation which 
ignores all heart and conscience? This is a question 
of very grave importance. If our modern scientists 
are to go on with remorseless energy in establishing 
simply an intellectual progress, then it is almost cer- 
tain that Satan could not wish for more effective 
workers in his interests than are these same disturbers 
of the public faith. There can be no real conflict 
between true science and true religion. Hence, when- 
ever men assume that learning is opposed to faith, that 
moment must they divorce intellect from heart, and 
knowledge from conscience. The result of this will 
give us the very skepticism represented by Mephis- 
topheles, and this will soon bring us to a scientific 
millennium, where Satan will be king, and where all 
the finer and nobler instincts of humanity will be ef- 
fectually and forever crushed. 

Are we ready for this? Can we give our assent 
to such a termination of human struggle? Let us 
pause and reflect. With the advance of knowledge 
comes the danger I have intimated. Hence, it be- 
comes all earnest men everywhere to stand by the 
Word of God, and refuse to listen to any seductive 
voice that seeks to destroy faith in the Christian reli- 
gion. 

But there is really not much difficulty in the case 
when we honestly take into consideration all the facts. 
It is easy to find fault with the Bible and even with 
God Himself, if we utterly ignore history and the 
simplest laws by which the universe is governed. 


THE PERSONAL ELEMENT IN EVIL 89 

Modern rationalism makes its appeal to human reason, 
but it often happens that its contention is altogether 
unreasonable from even its own point of view. In 
any case it is certainly self-contradictory, for much of 
its contention is absolutely destroyed by the logic it 
employs in seeking to destroy faith in the Word of 
God. But we shall see as we proceed that there is no 
good reason at all why the Bible problem of evil may 
not be harmonised with all the facts of creation, prov- 
idence and redemption. 







Ill 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 


The truest definition of evil is that which represents it as 
something contrary to nature; evil is evil because it is un- 
natural; a vine which should bear olive-berries, an eye to 
which blue seems yellow, would be diseased; an unnatural 
mother, an unnatural son, an unnatural act, are the strongest 
terms of condemnation. — F. W. Robertson. 

Where the heart goes before like a lamp, and illumines the 
pathway, many things are made clear that else lie hidden in 
darkness. — Longfellow. 

Mind is the partial side of men; the heart is everything.— 
Rivarol. 

Your learning, like the lunar beam, affords 
Light, but not heat ; it leaves you undevout, 

Frozen at heart, while speculation shines. 

— Young’s Night Thoughts. 

If liberty with law is fire on the hearth, liberty without law 
is fire on the floor. — H illard. 

Personal liberty is the paramount essential to human dig- 
nity and human happiness. — Bulwer Lytton. 

Sufficient to have stood, though free to fall. — Milton. 

But evil is wrought by want of Thought, 

As well as want of Heart. — Hood, “The Lady’s Dream.” 

I have wrought a great use out of evil tools. — B ulwer 
Lytton, “ Richelieu.” 

All discord, harmony not understood; 

All partial evil, universal good. 

— Pope, “ Essay on Man.” 


Ill 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 

From the foregoing considerations it will be seen that 
God is not the author of evil, nor is it in His power to 
prevent evil, except by such means as will harmonise 
with the laws of the universe. I say this reverently, 
but with emphasis. There are things which even God 
cannot do. In the construction of the universe His 
power is limited, and he cannot therefore go beyond 
these limitations of His own acts. We have seen thal 
evil is lawlessness. It is doing the very thing that 
God Himself would do if he was to disregard the laws 
which He Himself has made. It is precisely at this 
point where the difficulty of the problem of evil is seen 
to exist; but when we have a clear perception of the 
limitations which God has placed upon Himself this 
difficulty at once practically disappears. 

John Stewart Mill thought that the only explanation 
of the creation, as we see it, is in a denial of the 
Creator’s omnipotence. But this conclusion is not at 
all necessary. Surely when we say that God cannot 
produce too contradictory and mutually exclusive 
things, we do not imply that His omnipotence is 
denied. If God was the only volitional being in the 
universe, then there would be no difficulty in the prob- 
lem under consideration. But the moment other wills, 
involving other personalities are introduced, and these 
wills are all free, that moment the possibility of a con- 
flict, discord and confusion becomes a probability. It 
has been suggested that if God’s will is free, He Him- 
93 


94 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

self might possibily sin by breaking some of the laws 
which he has ordained, but such a notion comes from 
a very narrow conception of the facts involved. God 
is not only free, but He is possessed of infinite wisdom, 
infinite power, and infinite goodness. His infinitude 
extends not simply to His will, but to all His attributes, 
and these attributes would constantly protect Him 
against even the possibility of His violating any law 
which belongs to His moral government. 

It will help us at this point to refer again to the 
statement already made that no just conclusion can 
be arrived at without taking into consideration the end 
in view, which was doubtless in the mind of the 
Creator at the very beginning. It can scarcely be 
doubted that God knew that sin would come into the 
world, and if this be conceded, it seems incredible that 
He did not take this into His plan, and if in His plan, 
we must conclude that in some way He meant it to 
contribute to the final consummation of that plan. 
God’s foreknowledge does not involve His foreordina- 
tion. He may know that an event will come to pass, 
but it does not follow that He wills that event. He 
doubtless knew and indeed foretold in prophecy the 
disobedience of the children of Israel, but He surely 
did not will that disobedience. If we were to con- 
clude that He did will it, then we should at once find 
God contradicting Himself, for He evidently willed 
that they should obey Him, while they really persisted 
in their disobedience. 

At this point the following extract from Dr. W. N. 
Clark’s Outline of Christian Theology, must be re- 
garded as a helpful contribution to this difficult sub- 
ject. He says: 

“ God has not prevented Evil from entering his 
Creation, but knows how to use it in the Administra- 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 


95 

tion of the Universe.” — Evil, in the deepest sense, be- 
longs to the moral realm, and in any other realm has 
inferior significance. The name “ physical evil,” how- 
ever, is often given to hardship, struggle, pain, dis- 
ease, and death, in the experience of living beings. 
Physical evil is the suffering and hardship of life ; and 
its presence is an element in the question of the rela- 
tion of God to his creatures. Concerning it we may say : 

(1) . Physical evil is a radically different thing 
from sin, and is not evil in the same sense with it. 
Pain is hard to bear, but is not the worst of things; 
sin has a quality of badness that pain can never pos- 
sess. 

(2) . Physical evil existed before man, in the life 
of lower living beings, and seems unavoidable in bodily 
existence. Bodily life implies sensation; and sensa- 
tion implies power to suffer, as well as to enjoy. 
Bodies are liable to disease and accident; effort is a 
universal necessity, and effort may at any time become 
painful ; death seems to be the universal correlate of 
birth, and the inevitable destiny of physical organism. 

(3) . Though physical evil did not originate in moral 
evil, it owes to moral evil very much both of its quan- 
tity and of’ its quality. If humanity were delivered 
from sin, the actual burden of physical evil would be 
incomparably less than it now is. 

(4) . By way of relief we may note that many things 
that seem physically altogether evil prove not to be so. 
The method of life seems wasteful; but much that 
seems like waste proves necessary for the preservation 
and improvement of life. Much that brings incon- 
venience or danger to man brings death to innumer- 
able enemies of his welfare, and protects him more 
than it harms him. Probably the amount of actual 
suffering in the animal world has often been over- 


9 6 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

estimated, and the amount of pleasure understimated. 
Physical struggle has been painful, but has always 
tended upwards. 

(5) . In the life of moral beings physical evil is not 
useless. Through the wisdom of God pain has its 
beneficent mission, and hardship is a school of char- 
acter Physical evil is not the whole, but it is an ele- 
ment of that “ light affliction which worketh a far 
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” 

(6) . As spirits could not live an embodied life with- 
out pain, so probably they could not be trained in 
character without hardship and suffering. It is not 
safe to assume that all could have been made easy for 
us if God had wished. The gift of freedom is a 
tremendous gift, and the conditions for the exercise 
of freedom are more serious and exacting than we 
have often supposed. God himself may not have been 
able to train up his human creatures without the min- 
istry of pain. 

(7) . The present order, so full of suffering, may not 
be the ideal of God for his creatures, and yet may be 
the best for them at the present stage of their exist- 
ence, and for the purpose that is now in hand. It is 
not necessary in the administration of a good God that 
the world at present be the best possible world, but 
only that it be the best world for the present need and 
purpose. 

Of course, there will be objections to the view sug- 
gested on the ground that it is a dangerous doctrine 
to affirm that the end justifies the means, but this doc- 
trine is dangerous only when we say that the end al- 
ways justifies the means. However, in many things, 
and some of these are seen in nature as well as the 
realm of morals, we must determine the justification 
of means employed wholly by the end. Suppose some 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 97 

tyro in reasoning should say that a book of logic is 
worthless simply because it gives false syllogisms. 
What would an intelligent professor of logic say in 
reply? Evidently he would say that these false syllo- 
gisms are an important part of the book in order to 
reach the end in view, viz., understanding of how 
to reason correctly. The same is true with a book on 
grammar. Numerous examples of false syntax are 
given in order to illustrate and enforce a true syntax. 
Similarly we may reason with respect to evil, and we 
may conclude with Emerson that “ Every evil to which 
we do not succumb is a benefactor. As the Sandwich 
Islander believes that the strength and valour of the 
enemy he kills passes into himself, so we gain the 
strength of the temptation we resist.” 

There is scarcely any law more common than the 
one now under consideration. In the physical world 
we see it operating everywhere. The bright day of 
the present is all the brighter because yesterday was 
dark and dreary. If we never had seen both ends of 
a stormcloud, we could never understand why it could 
have any worthy place in the economy of nature. But 
we know that this cloud brings blessing, though it is 
in itself sometimes destructive in many respects. In 
Materia Medica the same law prevails. The doctor 
gives medicine that is poison and that for a time 
produces evil in the system where the medicine enters, 
but this is with a view to a certain end which the 
physician has in view, and he is justified in the use of 
the remedies he employs wholly on the ground that 
the final result will be for the benefit of the patient. 

May we not reasonably conclude that God uses evil 
in the same way, that is, with a view to the great end 
to be accomplished through the struggle of the ages? 
Perhaps if we could see all around the circle, we would 


98 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

understand better how in God’s system of Materia 
Medica evil is used as a remedy in bringing about 
health and vigour and happiness to the human race, 
and thus illustrating that “ all things (not simply 
some things) work together for good to them that 
love God, to them who are called according to his pur- 
pose.” 

Of course there are other questions lying back of 
the problem of evil, but these are so far removed from 
the sphere of our present life that no one can deal 
with them in an intelligible manner. It is better there- 
fore to let them alone. They belong to the “ deep 
things of God,” and not to us or to our children. But 
the problem of evil, when considered from the point 
of view I have indicated, is susceptible of as reason- 
able a solution as almost any other problem connected 
with Creation, Providence or Redemption. 

The careful reader will perhaps have already anti- 
cipated my proposed solution of the problem of evil. 
The word LIBERTY is the key to the whole situation. 
The universe was evidently constructed upon the plan 
which made evil possible, but not necessary. The 
right to choose between good and evil carried with it 
the possible condition of the knowledge of good and 
evil. Man could have remained negatively good for- 
ever, but he could not have been positively good with- 
out the very test to which he was subjected in the 
Garden of Eden. In another place I have said : “ I do 
not mean that it was necessary that Adam should par- 
take of the forbidden fruit; but it was necessary that 
he should be tempted.” If he had withstood the temp- 
tation, he would have developed a manhood which 
would have transcended anything of the kind ever 
seen in purely human history. But by falling, as he 
did, the next best thing for him the Creator could do 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 99 

was to turn him out of the garden and compel him to 
earn his living by the sweat of his brow. Indeed, it 
is precisely through the struggle which was precipi- 
tated by banishment from Eden that real manhood and 
womanhood can now possibly be made; and this is 
why I have intimated that man is still in the progress 
of making through the laws which God put into force 
when he said “ Let us make man in our image.” The 
popular notion that in the fall man entirely lost the 
image of God is probably not true. The image was 
marred, but not entirely lost. 

“ Of course God could have kept Adam from sin- 
ning. He could have created him so that his sinning 
would have been impossible; but this would have 
made matters infinitely worse. Man would then have 
been simply a machine ; but it was not the purpose of 
the Creator to make an automaton. His whole aim 
was to make a Man ; and to make such a man, as was 
in the divine purpose, it was necessary, so far as human 
wisdom can determine such a matter, to subject him 
to all the conditions that are described in the Bible 
and that are verified in human experience. 

“ There has been a large amount of nonsense writ- 
ten on this subject. One of the staple objections of 
infidels to the Bible account is, that God, knowing 
what man would do, actually placed a temptation be- 
fore him which had the effect of inducing him to do 
the very thing he was told not to do. Now this is 
really no objection at all. The temptation was an 
essential part of God’s plan in the creation of man. 
God could have peopled this earth with angels. He 
could have peopled it with demons. But his aim was 
to people it with men and women, and consequently 
they had to pass through the very process of making 
which is described in the Bible. We know of no other 


100 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


way to which these men and women could have been 
made as they are, and yet it is doubtless true that we 
prefer them as they are, with all their faults and with 
all their sad history, to a race of automatons who could 
act only as they were acted upon. 

“ We have only a few hints with respect to the 
origin of man, and then he is left to write his own 
history. That history we have partly in the Bible and 
partly in other books, while much of it has been writ- 
ten only in the book of God’s remembrance. Never- 
theless, through all the trials and struggles of the past, 
he has been developing to what he is to-day; and 
though there is much in the present outlook with 
respect to him that is not satisfactory, nevertheless, 
upon the whole, he is evidently making progress and 
is slowly coming to the realisation of that high ideal 
set for him by the man Christ Jesus. 

“ Before leaving the temptation in Eden, it may be 
worth while to suggest a possible explanation of the 
method which God adopted at that particular crisis. 
Assuming that man, at that time, had been endowed 
with a spiritual nature, and that this was regnant over 
body and soul, it is still true that man had, at that 
time, no experimental knowledge of a moral life. He 
had been created with splendid capabilities for good or 
evil, but these capabilities had only been exerted nega- 
tively. He was intended to be free, but this freedom 
could not come to him except at a heavy cost. This 
has been the price of liberty during the whole history 
of the race. Liberty costs a great deal, but it is price- 
less when once possessed. 

“ Of course the finite mind cannot comprehend such 
a question as is now under consideration, and it may 
be vain to speculate with respect to it; still, there are 
some rifts in the cloud, hanging between the finite 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 


IOI 


and infinite, which let in light enough on the dark 
places to make it at least interesting to seek for ex- 
planation of some of the mysteries which gather about 
the early history of man. Among these mysteries is 
the introduction of moral evil. Just when, how, and 
for what purpose, this was allowed to enter into man’s 
history may never satisfactorily be explained while we 
are in the flesh ; but, all the same, inquiring minds can- 
not help reaching out for some solution of one of the 
most vital problems connected with human life. What 
if that solution should at least be found in man’s dar- 
ing disobedience to the divine command? What if 
man achieved his freedom by the dethronement of his 
spiritual nature ? Is there anything unphilosophical or 
unscriptural in this conception? The alternative was 
presented, whether he should be governed by God or 
whether he should take matters into his own hand 
and govern himself. If he decided to keep faith with 
his Creator, then his spiritual nature would remain in 
control. If he decided to follow the advice of the 
animal, which was the immediate source through 
which the temptation came, then his animal nature 
would become dominant in directing his future con- 
duct. In the latter case, he would have to challenge 
his Creator and disregard the divine will, but at the 
same time he would achieve for himself a certain prac- 
tical freedom of will which he never could have other- 
wise possessed; though in gaining this he would lose 
immensely in other directions, at least until the time 
should come when he could regain the authority of 
his spiritual nature through the only man who was ever 
tempted and remained perfect to the end — the “ man 
Jesus Christ.” 

“If this somewhat speculative position should be 
correct, then it is evident that the choice which man 


102 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


exercised in Eden was both an evil and a blessing. 
It was an evil, because it entailed upon him innumer- 
able disastrous consequences; but it was a blessing 
in the fact that the exercise of the right to choose 
gave man the knowledge of good and evil, and prob- 
ably conferred upon him the positive moral nature 
which he did not possess before the temptation. The 
full meaning of the trial in Eden and the subsequent 
history of man will be more apparent when we come 
to consider the new spiritual man whose history and 
character we shall find in the New Testament and in 
the records of the church.” * 

Now if all this be accepted as probable, then it is 
evident that the solution of the problem of evil is to 
be found in man’s disobedience to the divine will. 
We have already seen that the divine will is the ex- 
pression of the good and the breaking of that will is 
the expression of the evil. To preserve the order of 
the universe is the good, to make disorder is the evil ; 
one is to obey the laws of God ; the other is to disobey 
these laws; one is loyalty to the divine government, 
the other is treason to that government. 

We have here also a probable solution of Satan’s 
fall and his subsequent history. We have already seen 
that there is evidence that the earth was overthrown 
after it was created, and that this overthrow was fol- 
lowed by darkness and confusion. Now may we not 
reasonably conclude that this overthrow was brought 
about by the exercise of that very liberty which has 
always been fundamental as a principle in the affairs 
of the universe? Of course this liberty was wrongly 
used. Satan doubtless carried his treason against the 
will of God to the extreme of bringing disorder 

♦From “Man Preparing for Other Worlds,” pages 74, 75, 
76 and 77, by the Author. 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 103 

throughout the whole earth as it existed in the begin- 
ning. It may be that the result of this treason mainly 
affected the earth from a physical point of view, 
though there may have been inhabitants of the earth 
at that time who were affected by this treason. Per- 
haps the angels that kept not their first estate may 
have been involved in this rebellion of Satan. But, 
however, that may have been, it is certainly not impos- 
sible that Satan became the great instigator of evil 
long before man was created. He doubtless appears 
in the Garden of Eden exactly in harmony with his 
antecedent history. He had succeeded in overthrow- 
ing the earth from a physical point of view, he must 
now overthrow man from a moral point of view. 
Man was created with an animal nature as well as 
with a spiritual nature. But the animal was below 
the spiritual. It was next to the physical. Conse- 
quently Satan made his attack upon the spiritual man 
through the influence of man’s animal nature. It was 
the perfection of worldly wisdom to select an animal 
through which the temptation was made; and this 
wisdom is emphasised by the fact that the most subtle 
of the animal kingdom was used through which to 
make the temptation effective. The temptation was 
from the lower elements of man’s nature up towards 
the higher. The appeal was to the lusts of the eye, 
the lusts of the flesh and the pride of life — the trinity 
of hell — and the success of the temptation could have 
been assured in no other way. The fruit was beauti- 
ful to the eye. That was the first attractive feature 
about it. It was pleasant to the taste, and it would 
make those who ate of it wise as the gods. Nothing 
could have been more philosophical from the point of 
view of success than this appeal for the overthrow of 
man’s spiritual nature and the elevation of the animal 


104 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE* 

into supreme regnancy ; and this is precisely what fol- 
lowed man’s disobedience. When he received the 
image of God he was endowed with a spiritual nature 
which held the supreme place, but when he fell, this 
spiritual nature went down and the animal went up, 
and consequently man has been under the control of 
the animal from that day until the present, except in 
cases where a new spiritual man has been created in 
Christ Jesus, and in this new spiritual man the spirit- 
ual nature is again in the ascendant while the animal 
man is held in subjection, being placed under law and 
subject to severe punishment when this law is violated. 

It will help us at this point to remember the nature 
of the prohibition. Attention has already been called 
to the fact that emphasis should be laid upon the word 
“ knowledge ” in the description of the tree which was 
in the midst of the Garden, and of the fruit of which 
Adam and Eve were not allowed to eat. Now the 
word knowledge , in this connection, in the Hebrew, 
is Wadah , the Septuagint rendition is Ton Ginooskein, 
while the Latin is Cognoscendi. The meaning is un- 
doubtedly cognition, discernment, or apprehension, 
and the result of eating would be that Adam and Eve 
would discern or apprehend right and wrong. The 
notion that they would experience right and wrong is 
scarcely justified by the meaning of the original word, 
though doubtless a certain experience would follow; 
but this was not the primary object of the prohibition. 
Cognition is the essential part of the idea conveyed by 
the original word. In short, they would have their 
“ eyes opened ” and they would instantaneously per- 
ceive the difference between good and evil, for it is 
stated that they knew they were naked and were 
ashamed. Now the verb “ knew,” in the original, is 
of the same family as “ knowledge ” in the phrase 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 105 

knowledge of good and evil.” Surely the meaning 
is not that they experienced that they were naked, for 
they had certainly known this in the sense of experi- 
ence for a long time. But they must have had an in- 
tellectual perception of certain ideas connected with 
their nudity which they had never before realised, and 
this view of the matter corresponds exactly with what 
the tempter said when he declared : “ For God doth 
know that ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil.” 
Likewise it harmonises with what God said : “ Be- 
hold the man has become as one of us, to know Good 
and Evil.” Now it is impossible to suppose that the 
knowledge which God has of evil is the knowledge of 
experience, but must be the knowledge of intellectual 
apprehension. 

This brings us to a point which I have already 
made, viz., the conflict between knowledge and reli- 
gion. This conflict began in the Garden of Eden and 
has been continued to the present time. Religion said 
“ Obey implicitly the command of God ” ; but the head 
listened to the voice of treason, because by so doing 
it should be as wise as God. While the temptation 
was an appeal to the lusts of the eye, the lusts of the 
flesh and pride of life, the real turning point in this 
temptation, and that which was the chief thing in it, 
was the appeal to the pride of intellect. To be as wise 
as God was the point insisted upon by the tempter. 
It was an appeal to the animal nature of man rather 
than his spiritual nature. 

This fact makes the temptation a key which unlocks 
a thousand mysteries. It offers a solution to the 
tragedy in Eden and also to the whole course of 
human history; and it is one of the saddest things 
in that history that the intellect and heart have been 
generally arrayed against each other, and consequently 


io6 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


religion has had to fight its way through the animal 
up to the spiritual; and in this conflict victory has 
always been on the side of the intellect except as 
spiritual help has come from above, so that the broken, 
deformed and weakened spiritual nature of man can 
pull up by the gracious hands offered through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. 

It will help us to a clearer understanding of this 
whole matter if we study somewhat critically the 
words “ good ” and “ evil.” The Hebrew words are 
Tobe, “Good,” and Rah, “Evil.” The Septuagint 
renders Tobe by the term Kalon, and the Greeks al- 
ways reckoned the “good” to be To Kalon — “the 
beautiful.” But the beautiful is that which is in har- 
mony with the divine will, or in accordance with the 
law of God; consequently from both the Hebrew and 
Greek conception, the Good was the highest expression 
of the divine will, as that will is revealed in Creation, 
Providence and Redemption. 

The term Rah, Evil, is rendered in the Septuagint 
by To Poneeron, “ wickedness.” The same term is 
used in Genesis vi :5.” And God saw that the wicked- 
ness (Hebrew, Rah, Greek, To Poneeron ) of man was 
great in the earth, and that every imagination of the 
thought of his heart was only evil (Rah) continually.” 
Now the radical conception in the word Rah, or Evil, 
is lawlessness, or disorder, or confusion, resulting from 
the breaking of the divine will. 

Adam was created with a threefold nature, viz., 
physical, animal and spiritual. His transgression in 
the Garden completely disorganised the rightful re- 
lations among these different parts of his nature. 
Whatever else happened, it is safe to say that the 
spiritual was dethroned and the animal enthroned by 
man’s act of disobedience. Hence the fall of man 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 107 

consisted chiefly in bringing disorder into his whole 
being by his violation of the law of God. Nor is it nec- 
essary, from this point of view, to assume that the pro- 
hibition in Eden was intended simply as a test of man’s 
loyalty . It was rather a part of the nature of things. 
It was a law quite in harmony with the construction 
of the universe. It was simply a revelation of a prin- 
ciple which belongs to the whole order of creation, the 
violation of which will always bring disorder and con- 
fusion, whether in the Garden of Eden or anywhere 
else, for it is the expression of a fundamental principle 
in the physical, animal and spiritual kingdoms. 

The notion, therefore, that Jehovah, in an arbitrary 
manner, introduced this prohibition in the Garden of 
Eden, simply to test man’s loyalty, may at once be 
dismissed. It was no more a test of man’s loyalty 
than evil is a test of his loyalty now. Evil was al- 
ready in the world, and the prohibition in the Garden 
was intended to guard man against its influence, to 
save him from its consequences, to help him to keep 
the law of God. It was remedial in the sense of pre- 
vention, an ounce of which is always better than a 
pound of cure. It was not an arbitrary arrangement 
by an imperious despot, as some have impiously sug- 
gested. It was benevolent in every respect; and in 
view of the antecedent history of creation and what 
resulted through the rebellion of the Evil One and 
those associated with him, it is difficult to see how man 
could have been placed upon the earth, constituted as 
he was, without the warning which he received in the 
Garden of Eden. Of course it is freely admitted 
that no one may certainly understand the whole 
philosophy of this early transaction in the history of 
man, but we can understand enough to realise that 
the whole proceeding in the Garden of Eden was quite 


io8 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


in harmony with the character of God as we have that 
character portrayed in all the subsequent history of 
the human race. 

It may be worth while to look still a little further 
into the matter of the conflict between man’s intellect- 
ual nature and his spiritual nature. It must not be 
reckoned that any conflict could ensue where these 
are kept in their respectively legitimate places. Man’s 
intellectual powers, when lawfully used, must neces- 
sarily be in harmony with his spiritual endowment. 

There can be no conflict between these when each is 
performing its lawful function. Conflict came about 
in Eden by an illegitimate use of knowledge, and this 
same conflict will be seen in the history of the race 
from Adam down to the present time. Intellectual 
supremacy must always be regarded with great sus- 
picion, if indeed, it should not be at once accepted 
as a dangerous rival to the supremacy of the heart. 
Religion should have the first place, for religion finds 
its fundamental basis in man’s spiritual nature. 
Loyalty to God has always been man’s highest duty. 
Disloyalty has usually come from the pride of intel- 
lect and from the consequently arrogant assumptions 
of intellectual supremacy. 

Satan understood this matter very well, and he 
acted accordingly. He knew if he could dethrone re- 
ligion that man would then be easily captured, as with 
this dethronement the animal nature of man would 
immediately hold a regal position, and therefore con- 
trol him in all his actions. The fall of Adam came 
about by an illegitimate use of a good thing in itself, 
and this was quite in harmony with a universal law, 
viz., the best things become evils when perverted 
from their legitimate uses. Even the world itself may 
be used if not abused. 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 


109 

There are other interesting’ questions which meet 
us just here. One is with respect to the punishment 
which was inflicted upon the serpent, the man, and the 
woman. Undoubtedly the punishment of Adam and 
his wife was not commensurate with the measure of 
their transgression, if the modifying circumstances 
are not taken into the account. As already remarked, 
evil was in the world, and that prohibition was in- 
tended to hedge man against its influence, at the same 
time it is certain that he was influenced by the subtle 
serpent who aimed at his destruction. 

It is also worth while to consider the fact that there 
is a vast difference between the culpability of Adam 
and that of Satan, not only as regards the transaction 
in Eden but also with reference to Satan’s fall, when 
he overthrew the physical earth, as has already been 
suggested. So far as the record goes there was no 
outside influence brought to bear upon Satan when he 
rebelled against God. He seems to have followed his 
own evil imagination, and his unholy ambition. His 
rebellion was emphatically his own act; and, there- 
fore, it is impossible to suppose that there is any place 
for mercy for him in the government of God, and es- 
pecially as Satan keeps up his rebellion. Satan’s act 
was a deliberate act of treason, resulting, no doubt 
from the very trinity which appealed to Eve in the 
Garden of Eden, though doubtless Satan was mostly 
influenced by the pride of life, or the unholy ambition 
to have intellectual and regal supremacy at the sacri- 
fice of the Divine will, which ought to have been his 
supreme delight to fulfill. 

We can now see why Satan is not a subject for 
redemption, and why it is his fate is forever fixed in 
his voluntary alienation from God. At the same time 
it is not difficult to understand why man at once be- 


no SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


came the subject of a remedial scheme by which he 
might be restored to the divine favour and reinstated 
in the divine love. It is also evident that punishment 
inflicted upon him was really the best thing that could 
have happened to him in view of what he had 
done. 

At the first sight it looks as if God was unmerciful 
when he drove Adam out of the Garden and placed a 
flaming sword at the eastern gate of the Garden so 
as to keep Adam from re-entering and eating of the 
tree of life that he might live forever. Three things 
must be considered here : 

(1) . Some kind of punishment was absolutely nec- 
essary. There are only three ways in which it is 
possible to deal with sin. It may be let alone ; it may 
be forgiven ; it may be punished. In this case it could 
not be let alone, neither could it be forgiven, and con- 
sequently it had to be punished. 

(2) . It would have been unmerciful on the part of 
the great Creator had He permitted Adam to remain 
in the Garden and live forever. Life under such cir- 
cumstances would have been intolerable. The con- 
sciousness of having sinned with no forgiveness, while 
a continuation of life with the spiritual man dethroned 
and the animal man enthroned, in a Garden where 
everything would have constantly reproved him, 
would, indeed, have been a hard fate for the man; 
much harder, indeed, than to be turned out of the 
Garden and compelled to earn his living by the sweat 
of his brow. 

(3) . But this latter penalty was remedial in the best 
sense. It made man conscious of a struggle which 
had been precipitated by reason of his real manhood, 
and was a preparation for the reversion of man’s 
nature and the restoration of his spiritual endowment 
to its normal place through the mediation of Jesus 


Ill 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 

Christ. Suffering is, therefore, a legitimate conse- 
quence of Adam’s transgression. No one inherits 
Adam’s sin. There is no possible inheritance of this 
kind, but every one of his descendants inherits his 
weakness, caused by his sin, and this weakness makes 
the whole human race an easy prey for the Evil One. 
Nor is there anything unscientific in this statement of 
the case. We inherit physical tendencies and also 
intellectual tendencies. Why then should it be 
thought an incredible thing that we should inherit 
immoral tendencies, since the very fountain head 
of the race was corrupted through the tragedy in 
Eden? 

From this point of view it will be seen that the 
Creator’s part in this whole transgression can be justi- 
fied by the principles of right and benevolence which 
are generally accepted among men. Man’s act was 
not entirely his own act, and yet it was sufficiently his 
own act to determine his moral freedom, and this moral 
freedom, though achieved by the temporary loss of his 
spiritual manhood, became, after all, a powerful influ- 
ence in making man what he is to be when he is re- 
deemed through the Gospel of God’s grace. Doubtless 
he could not have obtained mercy if it had not been for 
the extenuating circumstances by which the temptation 
was surrounded. Paul, the Apostle, tells us that though 
a persecutor of the church, he “ obtained mercy, be- 
cause he did it ignorantly through unbelief.” Evi- 
dently the Apostle was not doing right or he could 
not have obtained mercy, but he would not have ob- 
tained mercy had he been doing wrong with the full 
knowledge of the character of his wrong. The woman 
was deceived by the serpent and the man was in- 
fluenced by his wife, who was “ bone of his bone and 
flesh of his flesh.” It was like God to punish as far 
as was necessary and to make this punishment contrib- 


ii 2 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


ute to the final happiness of man, which happiness 
should be realised in a merciful redemption provided 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

It may be well just here to guard against a possible 
misapprehension with respect to the position taken 
concerning the sentence pronounced upon Adam. 
Doubtless some will be slow to accept the statement 
that there was no curse pronounced upon him. The 
notion that he was not cursed will seem to some as 
equivalent to the surrendering of the very Gibraltar 
of Theology, and these will doubtless quote especially 
from the Roman and Galatian letters as proof that 
Paul at least believed that Adam was cursed. 

Now it is certainly no part of my purpose to offend 
against a very general theological conclusion. But all 
the same it is my candid conviction that Paul nowhere 
even suggests that Adam was cursed for eating the 
forbidden fruit. A careful examination of Galatians, 
third chapter, will show that the curse of the law 
which is there spoken of is the curse of the Mosaic 
law, and as many as are of the works of the law are 
under that curse, for “ cursed is every one that con- 
tinueth not in all things that are written in the book 
of the law to do them.’ , Hence the Apostle concludes 
that by the law no one can be justified since all have 
violated the law. But even here he recognises the law 
as simply a parenthesis which in no way annuls the 
promise which was given to Abraham, the law having 
been given four hundred and thirty years later than 
the promise, showing conclusively that the curse re- 
ferred to is that which is pronounced in the law of 
Moses, and not anything that was said or done in the 
Garden of Eden. 

Equally certain is it that Paul says nothing of the 
supposed curse pronounced upon Adam (where he is 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 113 

discussing), in the fifth chapter of Romans, as the 
effect of Adam’s disobedience. He does not there 
even intimate that any one is now under a curse or 
even condemnation, on account of Adam’s transgres- 
sion, except so far as “ all have sinned,” because all 
have inherited the weakness which came upon the race 
as a result of what Adam did. Notice that the Apostle 
reaches the conclusion that by “ one man sin entered 
into the world and death by sin, and so death passed 
upon all men, for that all have sinned,” not that any 
one is to die simple because Adam sinned, but because 
he himself has sinned, for “ all have sinned.” We 
die, therefore, only because, having inherited the weak- 
ness of Adam, we ourselves sin, and are on that ac- 
count under condemnation. But before the Apostle 
finishes this chapter he makes it evident that “ the 
free gift ” through Jesus Christ (and which is to justi- 
fication) becomes all the more glorious because of the 
universal weakness of men. For he finally tells us 
that “ the law entered that the offense might abound ” ; 
that is, that sin should be made “ exceeding sinful,” 
a thing which was not well understood until the law 
entered; or to put it in other language, until the law 
was “ added because of transgression,” and this very 
addition which reveals the “ offense,” in order to make 
it “ abound,” at the same time enabled “ grace to much 
more abound,” so that sin reigning unto death, “ grace 
might reign through righteousness unto eternal life 
by Jesus Christ our Lord.” 

All this decidedly emphasises the struggle between 
the head and heart as it is revealed in history. Paul 
himself tells us that he did not “ know sin except by 
the law.” This statement is luminous in its bearing 
upon the whole question involved in our discus- 
sion. 


1 1 4 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

We have already seen that through the tragedy in 
Eden the head usurped the place of the heart, or the 
intellectual nature of man became dominant over the 
spiritual. The law which was added was mainly an 
appeal to the intellect; it was intended to show what 
sin is, and to adumbrate its remedy. But it did not 
take away sin, nor restore the religious nature of man 
to its normal position. It was simply preparatory. It 
was a pedagogue, or a schoolmaster, to bring us to 
Christ. The intellect having been elevated above the 
heart it was necessary to reach the heart through this 
intellect; or in other words the spiritual nature of 
man, after the fall, could be reached only through the 
enlightenment of the head, as to the nature of sin; 
and this process required a long period, such as really 
intervened during the reign of the law. But when 
Christ came, who was the end of the law for righteous- 
ness to all who believe, grace began to abound where 
sin before had abounded. 

Paul’s argument then is not to establish the fact 
that we are personally any way responsible for Adam’s 
offense, though every one suffers to some extent on 
account of that offense, but every one is responsible 
for his own acts, while even the suffering he experi- 
ences will redound to the glory of all who accept of 
Him who was “ made sin for us, who knew no sin, 
that we might be made the righteousness of God in 
Him.” 

Surely nothing could emphasise more strongly the 
position of this volume than the argument which the 
Apostle Paul makes in Romans, chapter viii. “ There 
is, therefore, now no condemnation to them which are 
in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after 
the spirit; for the law of the spirit of life in Christ 
Jesus (which is the Gospel) hath made me free from 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 115 

the law of sin and death (that is the law of Moses). 
For what the law could not do (that is, the law of 
Moses), in that it was weak through the flesh (that is, 
weak because it did not take into account the weakness 
of the flesh that had been inherited through Adam’s 
transgression), God sending His own Son in the like- 
ness of sinful flesh, and by a sacrifice for sin con- 
demned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the 
law (that is the Mosaic law) might be fulfilled in us 
(Christians) who walk not after the flesh (who are 
not controlled by our animal nature which usurped 
allegiance when the heart was dethroned and the head 
enthroned) but after the spirit,” (which here doubt- 
less represents the spiritual man which is in contrast 
with the fleshly man, that is, the Pneumatikos An - 
thropos as opposed to the Sarkikos Anthropos. All 
this shows that “ to be carnally minded is death ; but 
to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because 
the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not 
subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So 
then they that are in the flesh (are under the control 
of the flesh) cannot please God;” but Christians are 
not under the control of the flesh, or the fleshly man, 
but are under the control of the spirit, or spiritual man, 
if they have become fit temples so that the Spirit 
dwells in them, for if we “ have not the Spirit of Christ 
we are none of His.” 

But I need not continue this argument any further. 
Enough has already been said to spoil one of the most 
cherished views of Theology, as it has been developed 
in the Theological systems which have reigned from 
Augustine down to the twentieth century. But as 
truth is our quest we must follow where truth leads, 
no matter if our conclusions do not exactly square 
with the human creeds which have so long reigned 


ii 6 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


and hindered a clear understanding of the Divine gov- 
ernment. 

But, however this may be, it must be evident to the 
thoughtful reader that no satisfactory solution of the 
problem can be reached through any view that makes 
God the author of evil, or assumes that Adam was per- 
sonally cursed in the sense of the current use of that 
word. The solution, if found at all, must be found in 
the fact that man, in choosing between knowledge 
and faith, dethroned the heart and placed the head in 
supreme authority. This made it impossible for him 
to remain in the Garden of Eden; but when he was 
driven out of the garden he was at once introduced 
to the ground which had been cursed for his sake , 
so as to compel him to earn his living by the sweat of 
his brow. The struggle into which he was thus pre- 
cipitated would help to subdue his arrogant intellect 
and prepare him for the time when the new man in 
Christ Jesus would be reinstated in a better Eden 
than the one which was lost. In this Eden, knowledge 
would again take its normal position, the head and 
heart be reconciled, and man would again walk by 
faith and not by sight. 

But all this would require time, and consequently 
no solution of the problem can be complete without 
taking into consideration all the dispensations of God’s 
dealings with the human race. This fact at once 
emphasises the importance of God’s immanence in the 
affairs of the present life. It cannot be denied that 
even many Christians have practically eliminated the 
providence of God, so that He is no longer to be con- 
sidered as a factor in the government of the world. 
Indeed, these cold legalists virtually make God a 
prisoner within the walls of His own laws, so that 
He can do nothing that these laws do not prescribe. 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 117 

Now this view of the Divine government amounts to 
no government at all, for as law is wholly inoperative 
without an executor it is simply impossible to sup- 
pose that the universe could continue to exist without 
some providential oversight which sustains, directs 
and develops according to a scheme which may not be 
understood until the whole is worked out. 

This is especially true as regards the moral part of 
the scheme. No satisfactory solution of the problem, 
now under consideration, can possibly be reached with- 
out reckoning constantly with the end which divine 
wisdom has had in view all the way down through the 
ages. Nor must we allow at any time that God’s 
immanence is no longer to be considered in the de- 
velopment of the process toward the great end in view. 
It is readily admitted that God works through law, but 
at the same time it is emphatically denied that law 
can work without God. 

But the particular point, to which attention is just 
now called, is the progressive character of even moral- 
ity. No one can understand the history of God’s 
dealings with the human race without some clear 
conception of the fact that the evolution of morality, 
as well as all other things, has been a gradual develop- 
ment. At least three distinct ages or dispensations 
must be considered in studying the evolution of the 
highest degree of morality. First, the age or dis- 
pensation of Anthropomorphism, or the revelation of 
God in human form, when Jehovah himself visited 
man and spoke to him face to face ; second, the dis- 
pensation of law, or the revelation of a moral system 
as indicated in the decalogue ; third, the dispensation 
of grace, or the revelation of the moral system through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Now, under the first of these dispensations, God 


n8 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


had to deal with man, while His spiritual nature was 
at its lowest. We have already seen that in the fall 
the heart went down, and the intellectual nature as- 
sumed an illegitimate control. Doubtless at first, a 
very high moral system was impossible as a fact to be 
realised, and consequently God dealt with man just as 
the exigencies of the case seemed to demand, and by 
frequent personal interpositions in the affairs of the 
race, the heart life was gradually developed to where 
a system of morality could be formulated, such as we 
find in the decalogue. But even this was mainly in- 
tended for a special race which God had selected, 
through which he meant to bless the whole world 
when the time should come for the fuller development 
of His providential scheme. This time did come when 
Jesus Christ entered human history and gave to the 
world the higher morality which is everywhere found 
in His teaching. 

In the light of this gradual development of morality, 
it must be evident to the most casual reader that the 
solution of the problem, under consideration, is not 
possible without a careful study of its relationship to 
all the facts of history, and consequently the reader 
must wait for a more comprehensive explanation in 
the chapters which are to follow. 

However, before proceeding further, it is perhaps 
well to consider some objections that may be made to 
the solution of the problem which has been proposed. 
Of course, it is understood that the central thought of 
our solution is that the end justifies the means, and 
that the end is the “ glory that shall be revealed to us- 
ward ” in the final outcome of the conflict between 
good and evil. This is “ the far off divine event ” 
which God has had in view from the beginning; and 
it is believed that the pictures which are given us in 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 


119 

the Bible of that “ inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, 
and that fadeth not away, reserved in the Heaven,” 
and the joy which the toil-worn pilgrims shall experi- 
ence at the end of the struggle, will more than justify 
the means that have been employed to reach this great 
end. 

But it is readily granted that just here is one of the 
main objections which may be made against the solu- 
tion proposed. The objection takes this form: Is 
not the suffering which has been endured throughout 
the ages, and is still a part of our lot, far in excess 
of the happiness which may finally be reached? This 
question involves the suffering of animals as well as 
the suffering of the human race. 

The brute creation has always been an important 
factor in the problem under consideration; but it is 
fraught with less difficulty than that which belongs to 
the human side of the question. If we begin at the 
beginning, we are at once introduced to the fact that 
the brute creation was evidently intended for man’s 
special use, and consequently this creation was placed 
under man to be governed by him. After the flood 
this fact is made even more emphatic, so that it is 
evident that the whole brute creation is not only under 
the dominion of man, but is for his special use in the 
very struggle to which man is subjected. Neverthe- 
less, this very dominion is suggestive of the responsi- 
bility which man is under to rule his kingdom with 
the justice and consideration that man himself de- 
mands of his rulers. Despotism with respect to the 
brute creation is just as bad as despotism anywhere 
else; and any unnecessary waste of brute life is un- 
doubtedly contrary to a righteous government of the 
animal kingdom. Against all wanton destruction of 
animal life, the law of Moses rigidly protested, and 


120 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


even severe penalties were enjoined upon those who 
were guilty of violating the law protecting animal 
life. 

However, it is well to understand the fact that the 
evidence is fairly conclusive that animals do not suffer 
as much as many have supposed. Of course, it is im- 
possible to tell definitely how this matter stands. Still, 
the evidence is almost conclusive that no such suffer- 
ing is experienced as has frequently been imagined. 
But no matter how this may be, the difficulty is not 
one of revelation alone ; it is one for scientists to con- 
sider as well as theologians. The suffering is here, 
and this fact is not changed by any consideration of 
either the beginning or the end. Should the mater- 
ialist be able to confound the Christian at this partic- 
ular point, the former would soon find himself in a 
difficulty equally great with the one wherein he has in- 
volved the Christian. No matter what view we may 
take of the suffering of animals, or the cause of that 
suffering, it must be evident to all thoughtful men that 
no theory can explain away the fact, for the fact still 
remains no matter what our explanation of it may be. 

The same may be said of human suffering, though 
we may look for the rationale of it in a somewhat 
different direction. We have seen what the Bible 
view is, and it is believed that this view is as reason- 
able as any other that has been presented, even if it is 
not the most reasonable that can be presented. 

Perhaps it might help us at this particular point to 
quote from the Apostle Paul in the eighth chapter of 
his letter to the Romans. In the 18th verse he 
says: 

“ I reckon that the sufferings of this present time 
are not worthy to be compared with the glory which 
shall be revealed to usward.” 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 121 

Now this puts the matter in its true light. The 
sufferings of the present time are evidently not joyous 
but grievous, but afterward they yield the peaceable 
fruit of righteousness to them who are exercised there- 
by. In other words, these sufferings are undoubtedly 
very serious, but after all they are not worthy to be 
compared with the glory which shall be revealed at 
the end of the struggle. It is also worth while to 
notice that this glory is to be revealed to “ usward,” 
or as the authorised version puts it “ in us.” Surely 
it is a “ consummation most devoutly to be wished ” 
that God’s people are themselves the instruments in 
whom this glory is to be revealed, the sufferings of 
whom are not worthy to be compared to what the final 
glory shall be. 

It is believed that this end of the struggle fully 
justifies the means. Even though some may still ob- 
ject to the severity of the conflict itself, it is difficult 
to see how such a glory could finally be revealed 
through a conflict any less severe. There must be 
struggle where there is victory. Doubtless a wrong 
view of the final outcome of this whole matter has 
done much to mystify the minds of those who have 
sought for some satisfactory solution. Not a few 
have been influenced by the thought that the whole 
process of God’s dealings in human history is to 
restore man to his lost Eden. Nothing could be 
further from the truth than this. There is no going 
back in God’s plans. His providential scheme is not 
to place man back again where he once was, but 
rather to bring him to an Eden, a happiness and a 
glory far greater than that which he enjoyed before he 
was cast out of his primeval dwelling place. His 
future abode is to be in mansions prepared by Christ 
Himself, and the glory which shall be revealed will 


122 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


be infinitely greater than that which was in the earthly 
paradise before the tempter entered. 

But the objection which we are considering is largely 
discounted by the fact that the Incarnation is an as- 
surance that God Himself is willing to share with us 
the very sufferings which we are called upon to en- 
dure. The great captain of our salvation, who is 
“ God with us,” was made perfect through suffering, 
and the fact that he was tempted in all points like as 
we are is proof of the willingness of our Divine Father 
to bring divinity down to human history and associate 
it with all the struggles and trials of our poor frail 
humanity. This wonderful fact leaves us without ex- 
cuse. if we still rebel against the means by which we 
are to reach the development which is necessary to the 
“glory which shall be revealed in us.” 

The objector may still say that this process of de- 
velopment through suffering has continued far too 
long. But this same objector will probably not com- 
plain against nature or nature’s God, on account of 
the length of time necessary for the development of 
this earth for the abode of man. Nor will he probably 
complain of the immense sacrifices of animals that have 
helped to build this great earth on which we live. 
Millions of years have probably passed away while 
this preparation has been in progress, and innumerable 
animals, even to the smallest coral workers, have given 
their lives to the accomplishment of this great end. 
Time is nothing with God, but as He works by means, 
it is difficult to see how he could have reached even the 
present development of the race more rapidly than it 
has been done. The following periods may be indi- 
cated as included in the whole process of develop- 
ment: 

(i). The Inorganic. 


123 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 

(2) . The Organic. 

(3) . The Co-operative. 

Another way of stating practically the same thing, 

though from a somewhat different point of view is 
as follows: 

(1) . God as Creator. 

(2) . God as Governor. 

(3) . God as Father. 

Or we may state the matter still further from 
another point of view : 

(1) . Special Revelations. 

(2) . Statutory Enactments. ♦ 

(3) . Principles. 

The analysis may still be continued by the follow- 
ing trinity: 

(1) . The age of Rebellious Intellect. 

(2) . The Age of the Flesh. 

(3) . The Age of the Heart. 

Or if we prefer Paul’s analysis we may read as 
follows : 

(1) . The Sarkikos. 

(2) . The Psychikos. 

(3) . The Pneumatikos. 

A still more popular and perhaps comprehensive 
trinity would be, 

(1) . The Theistic Dispensation. 

(2) . The Mosaic Dispensation. 

(3) . The Messianic Dispensation. 

These may be divided into 

(1) . The Dispensation of Promise. 

(2) . The Dispensation of Type. 

(3) . The Dispensation of Fact. 

Of course, it would be easy to extend this analysis 
still further, so as to comprehend the dispensation of 
the family, the dispensation of the nation and the dis- 


124 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

pensation of the world, but enough has been said to 
indicate that the whole process of evolution through 
the ages has been a slow process, marked by certain 
definite periods, which seem to have been necessary 
in order that the great end in view might be attained. 
God is a God of order, not confusion. Nor is He ever 
in a hurry, as we understand that matter from a human 
point of view. He sees the end from the beginning, 
and if it took millions of years to prepare this earth 
for the abode of man, why should any one think it an 
incredible thing that thousands of years should be 
necessary to prepare man for the eternal mansions? 

It will help us to understand this matter if we re- 
member that God has treated man as a free agent 
from the beginning of human history. Now it must 
be evident to the merest tyro in reasoning that, if man 
is left to himself to choose his own course of action, 
he would probably make very many mistakes, and 
would often by these mistakes hinder the consumma- 
tion of his development so that the end of human 
struggle could be speedily reached. We have already 
seen that progress is constantly in zigzag lines, and is 
often backward as well as forward, and this fact 
clearly made it impossible for a short period of human 
history to determine the final issue between good and 
evil. However, all the way down the ages substantial 
progress was made in certain directions, and since 
the coming of Christ very definite progress has, upon 
the whole, been made toward the final victory. 

There is still one objection which may be made 
against the solution of the problem which has been 
proposed. It may be said that the glory which shall 
be revealed in us will justify the means used during 
the long period of suffering to which the race has 
been exposed, provided, in the end, all the human race 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 125 

shall be saved. This question raises a difficulty which 
cannot be properly treated in the few lines which can 
now be devoted to it. Nevertheless, the same diffi- 
culty is seen in the evolution of the physical world, 
and also in the animal world. Evolution plants no 
flag of eternal hope in the pathway of the unfit. We 
see everywhere the whole course of progress strewn 
with the wrecks of failure, though this failure has in 
some way contributed to the final success of the fittest. 
This is one of the deep problems connected with our 
present existence, and future prospects. There is evi- 
dently, in the Scriptures, a dark background for those 
who continue in sin, but we dare not withhold the 
mead of praise from the victors in the contest between 
good and evil simply because some have refused to 
serve in the army of the faithful and have finally failed 
in the struggle for the crown. 

After all, no one would be satisfied with the final 
outcome of the struggle if we could know now that 
there would be no difference between the destiny of 
the righteous and the wicked. What would be our 
notions concerning the justice of God if we were as- 
sured that Nero and all tyrants would share in the 
same glory as the saints of God who have “ come up 
out of great tribulation, and washed their robes and 
made them white in the blood of the Lamb?” To ask 
such a question is, to practically answer it to the com- 
mon-sense of all who are not determined to rail 
against the reasonableness of the divine government. 

However, before closing this brief consideration of 
objections, it may be well to state that any objection 
that may be alleged against the proposed solution of 
this deep problem, seems to be equally good against 
nature. Indeed, there are difficulties in nature which 
appear to be more insurmountable than anything we 


126 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


have found in the history of the divine government 
of the world from a moral or religious point of view. 
In short, it is easy enough to carry the skepticism of 
the materialist into his own country, and confound 
him with the very arguments which he makes against 
revelation and religion. 

Perhaps nothing shows the weakness of the conten- 
tion of the materialist more decidedly than the fact 
that his main objections to spiritual things lie equally 
against the laws of nature, which laws he recognises 
and professes to venerate. 

While it is believed that what has been said fur- 
nishes a key to the solution of the problem under con- 
sideration, without in any way impeaching the good- 
ness of God, still it may be worth while to look at the 
matter from another point of view. It has already 
been stated that, in some respects, even God Himself 
is limited. There are some things He cannot do ; and, 
if this be true, may there not be some things He can- 
not foreknow? What if, in creating an agent with a 
perfectly free will, God has limited His own fore- 
knowledge as to what that will may do ? Is there any- 
thing unphilosophical in this conception of the matter ? 
Indeed, is it not probable that the introduction of free 
agency into the affairs of this world at once limited 
the foreknowledge of God just where this free agency 
is involved? In short, could God foreknow just what 
a free agent would certainly do in any particular case ? 
We might press this inquiry even a little further. 
Would it be possible for God to foreknow the action 
of a will as free as His own? Would that will be en- 
tirely free if its action was predetermined by any 
foresight that made that particular action necessary? 
Now the point is this: When God created a being 
as free as Himself, did not God then and there limit 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 127 

his own foreknowledge as to what that free agent 
would do wherever and whenever the freedom of the 
will might be involved? Now all of this is put tenta- 
tively, for no one can assuredly understand the height 
and depth, the length and breadth of a subject so pro- 
found as this. Nevertheless, it seems to me that the 
supposition that the free agency of a being other than 
God Himself may imply the limitation of God’s fore- 
knowledge as to what this being would do in a par- 
ticular case. If this view of the matter can be ac- 
cepted, then it is evident that very many difficulties 
are removed from the solution of the problem under 
consideration. We may understand the fall of Satan 
as well as the fall of man. Indeed, in harmony with 
the facts already referred to as regards certain ex- 
periments and their results, the creation of man, as a 
free agent, would' seem to be a necessary second ex- 
periment, after the fall of Satan, which was the result 
of the first experiment with respect to free agency. 

Undoubtedly the chief difficulty in both cases is 
easily met if it be conceded that God did not certainly 
foreknow just what Satan would do, or what man 
would do, in the exercise of the freedom conferred. 
And that being the case, God cannot be held respon- 
sible for what took place, and especially when in the 
latter case, at least, He distinctly and emphatically 
warned man against the impending danger. Man 
could not have been a free agent if he had not been 
endowed with the ability to choose, and at the same 
time granted the privilege of choosing; but it may be 
that this very endowment and privilege at once limited 
the foreknowledge of God with respect to what man 
would certainly do. Should this hypothesis be ac- 
cepted, it can no longer be charged that God was 
cruel in creating man and endowing him with the 


128 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

freedom to choose between good and evil when he 
knew that the man would choose the evil, and thereby 
bring the subsequent ruin upon the race. But as- 
suming that God did not foreknow certainly what 
man would do in the particular case (having limited 
his foreknowledge by constituting another free agent) 
it is then easy to see just how man’s subsequent history 
must necessarily be what it was, and how the suffering 
entailed upon him becomes a remedial agent in de- 
veloping him for the habitation of the new Heaven 
and the new earth. 

Really, from this point of view, the whole horizon 
seems to be clear of clouds, while God’s overruling 
evil for good is not only philosophical, but is also in 
harmony with the supreme goodness of God which is 
everywhere displayed in Creation, Providence and 
Redemption. 

The solution then, which we propose of the problem, 
is, first of all, the suggestion that God’s foreknowledge 
is limited with respect to the particular act which de- 
termined Adam’s free agency, and therefore God is 
not responsible in any way for what Adam did, and 
especially as the latter was warned against choosing 
the evil. God did not determine the choice, nor did 
he probably foreknow what the choice would be, for 
the very fact that he granted to Adam the high privi- 
lege of choosing, robbed Himself of the foreknowledge 
of just what the choice would be. But in the second 
place, if it is still assumed that God did foreknow 
just what Adam would do, then he evidently took 
into consideration all the facts of human history, and 
working toward a great end He justifies Himself, and 
enables us also to justify him by taking into consid- 
eration the consummation of the great struggle through 
which the human race has to pass. In the light of 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 129 

either one of these hypotheses, the mission of Christ 
becomes luminous with the light of God as well as 
gloriously full of the love of God. At the same time 
the explanation of the antagonism between head and 
heart in the whole course of human history at once 
becomes intelligible, while the final co-ordination of 
these is assured through the triumphs of the religion 
of Christ, as a regenerating and sanctifying influence 
in the world. 

This view of the matter might be regarded by some 
as practically overthrowing all prophecy that deals 
with the foretelling of coming events; but surely this 
does not follow. We know very little about the ele- 
ments which enter into the foretelling of coming 
events. We do know that the whole universe, physical, 
moral and spiritual, is under certain laws, the operation 
of which leads to inevitable results; and, if we had a 
complete knowledge of the working of these laws, it 
would, perhaps, be possible for any one to be a 
prophet with respect to coming events. But this is a 
very different thing from the knowledge which one 
free will has of another free will . There were no facts 
in the history of man by which his action could be 
foretold when he received the prohibition in the Gar- 
den of Eden. Since that time human history is full 
of facts, by which even uninspired men may tell with 
considerable certainty what will happen under clearly 
defined conditions. As this was not so in the begin- 
ning, it is reasonable to conclude that the Creator 
did not absolutely know just what would happen with 
respect to the prohibition against eating the forbidden 
fruit. Doubtless, this prohibition was necessary in 
order to put into practice man’s free will. 

Now, if in the construction of the universe, includ- 
ing man’s relation to it, the Creator chose to limit his 


130 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

own knowledge in order that he might create a being 
who would be as free as Himself, surely there is noth- 
ing in such a course that in any way limits the omnis- 
cience of God beyond what He Himself has seen fit to 
limit. Perhaps it was impossible, as already suggested, 
to create another perfectly free agent without limiting 
the free agency that already existed. In any case, it 
is evident that the suggestion I have made is a per- 
fect solution of the whole difficulty with respect to 
the responsibility of the Creator for the sin of Adam. 
If He did not really know what Adam would do, 
with respect to eating the forbidden fruit, it is no 
longer possible to find fault with God for having 
created a man with the power to sin, and then plac- 
ing before him a temptation, when He knew that man 
would sin. The hypothesis I have suggested is a 
complete vindication of the Creator against even the 
suspicion of inconsistency. 

In presenting this hypothesis, it must not be under- 
stood that I think such an explanation is necessary 
in order to vindicate the character of the Creator. It 
has already been shown that the very course which 
Adam pursued may have been in the plan of God when 
he began working towards that “ far off divine event 
to which the whole creation moves.” But as it is 
somewhat difficult to bring all the facts of creation, 
providence and redemption into the clear comprehen- 
sion of very many who are interested in this matter, 
it is believed that the hypothesis proposed is a short 
cut to the solution of the whole question, and at once 
entirely does away with all infidel objections concern- 
ing the facts which transpired in the Garden of Eden. 
It is, furthermore, worth while to notice that this 
hypothesis is entirely in harmony with the doctrine 
of Theistic evolution, which is no longer seriously ob- 


THE SOLUTION PROPOSED 


131 

jected to by well-informed theologians. In fact, my 
view of the matter not only furnishes a key to one of 
the knotty problems of Theology, but it also furnishes 
that key in harmony with the modern conclusions of 
science. In short, the view is thoroughly scientific, 
and is certainly not out of harmony with the teaching 
of Scripture. 

However, I have not used this theory specially in 
the argument of this volume. I have preferred to 
vindicate the divine government from a different point 
of view. I was afraid that the theory I have suggested, 
as regards the limited foreknowledge of God, might 
shock some of my readers and thereby weaken my 
argument in the minds of those who are not prepared 
for such a radical conclusion as is clearly involved. 
Nevertheless, I believe my theory is susceptible of sub- 
stantial proof, and that, furthermore, it does not in 
the slightest degree lower our conceptions of God. 
On the contrary it seems to me it emphasises His 
power, wisdom and goodness, the special attributes 
displayed in creation. But as my whole argument is 
practically based upon the theory that the end which 
God had in view justifies the means he used, it is not 
needful to do more than state the theory of God’s 
limited foreknowledge as an explanation that may be 
considered where the theory I have adopted is not 
entirely satisfactory. 

But it matters little which view may be accepted, 
whether God’s foreknowledge was limited, as sug- 
gested, or the fall of man was in the plan of the divine 
government; it still remains true that evil is in the 
world and is a very solemn fact, and a fact, too, that 
must be considered in all our plans of life; and the 
way to deal with evil, as I have suggested, seems to 
best harmonise with the known attributes of God, as 


132 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

well as all the facts of human history. No matter how 
terrible the ravages of evil may be, if it can be used 
as a remedial agent, it will be seen at the end of human 
struggle, if not now, that the way by Calvary is the 
only way that could possibly lead to the eternal man- 
sions. The theory of God’s limited foreknowledge has 
to do only with the origin of evil. In any case, God 
has over-ruled evil for His own glory and the good of 
the human race. 













It seems to me eternal life 
Is key to all that’s now in this, 

For surely everlasting bliss 
Will compensate for present strife. 

The struggle which down here defies 
Our surest grasp of earthly things, 

And out of which doubt often springs. 

Receives its meaning from the skies. 

We all are made to look above, 

With head to stars we see the light, 

And then, throughout the darkest night, 

We know of truth that God is Love. 

In this great fact our souls can rest, 

We need not trouble any more, 

For when we reach the distant shore 
We’ll find things here were for the best. 

We leave our souls in this sweet trust, 

And for the explanation wait, 

When crooked paths shall be made straight, 

And we shall know that God is just. 

We cannot change things if we would, 

And yet we feel that even now, 

These things are working so, somehow 
They’ll prove at last that God is good. 

— W. T. M. 

History is the revelation of Providence. — Kossuth. 

Providence conceals itself in the details of human affairs, 
but becomes unveiled in the generalities of history. — Lamar- 
tine. 


IV 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY 

The foregoing considerations are strikingly illustrated 
in the history of the Adamic race from Adam down 
to the present time. A few facts of this history will 
be sufficient to make clear the conflict between good 
and evil, between the heart and head, between religion 
and illegitimate knowledge. This conflict distinctly 
manifested itself in the history of Cain and Abel. 
These two sons of Adam represented in themselves 
the essential features of the struggle between good 
and evil, right and wrong, unselfishness and selfish- 
ness, supreme fidelity to the will of God and an unholy 
ambition, which is always associated with an unworthy 
desire for intellectual supremacy at the sacrifice of 
religious obligation. 

It is certainly very suggestive that this first conflict 
in Adam’s posterity is a conflict of war resulting in 
bloodshed. The name Cain means possession. He 
was a tiller of the ground, and doubtless claimed cer- 
tain possessions of land, which may have limited the 
range of Abel’s shepherding his flock. The ill feeling 
between the brothers perhaps began in the conflict 
between their respective avocations. In short, prop- 
erty was the chief factor in the quarrel which subse- 
quently ensued. Cain represented the animal nature 
of man, which was now predominant, owing to the 
fall of Adam, while Abel represented the spiritual 
nature which was now in subordination in conse- 
quence of the defeat in Eden. Cain represented the 
i35 


136 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

intellectual line, while Seth, who took the place of 
Abel, subsequently represented the religious line. The 
Cainites were predominant in their influence, and on 
this very account they soon brought the whole race 
to moral degradation. The intermarriage of the Cain- 
ites and the Sethites produced a race of warlike men, 
mighty in valour, but practically without any moral 
or religious character. The final result was the deluge 
by which the entire race was destroyed, excepting 
Noah and his family. 

It is worth while to notice the fact, that the Cainites 
were distinguished for intellectual progress, for the 
invention of those things which we usually class with 
civilisation. Cain was the builder of the first city; 
his descendants were the first artificers in brass and 
iron, as well as the inventors of musical instruments. 
Undoubtedly to the Cainites we must ascribe chiefly 
the intellectual progress of the race prior to the deluge. 

During this whole time the right of property was 
fundamental in all the affairs of the race. But this 
right of property was established by force, and con- 
sequently war became the means by which progress 
was made. This may be called the method of history. 
Scarcely a step of progress was ever made before 
the coming of the Prince of Peace which was not 
contested by arms and purchased with blood ; and even 
since the coming of Christ nearly every great and 
decisive achievement in the progressive development 
of the world has been produced by conflicts on the 
tented field. 

All this shows the predominance of the animal over 
the spiritual man. The conflict that resulted in the 
death of Abel still rages, and that was the first indi- 
cation of the supreme predominance of the animal 
over the spiritual in the history of Adam’s race. It is 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY 


137 

worth while, however, to remember that while the 
spiritual man has been suppressed and has usually 
been defeated in the conflicts of the past, it is true, 
nevertheless, that the rising power of the spiritual 
has been the redeeming feature in all the history of 
the world. The spiritual nature, though never su- 
preme in Old Testament times, was never entirely sup- 
pressed. Indeed, it often manifested itself with con- 
siderable emphasis in instances of human history, but 
its predominance was never possible until the coming 
of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom it was again lifted 
into regnancy in the affairs of human life. 

It is well just here to refer to the influence of this 
conflict on the development of Old Testament history. 
It has already been intimated that the Old Testament 
was subject to a certain evil environment during its 
growth by which it was somewhat influenced, though 
not seriously affected, in so far as its main purpose 
was concerned. The writers of the Old Testament 
occupied a geographical position which was extremely 
favourable for the dissemination of the moral truths 
and the historic information which especially charac- 
terise that wonderful collection of books. 

Palestine is a little country, but it has had a mar- 
vellous history. “ Geographically it is distinguished 
by its centre position — between Asia and Africa, and 
between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean, 
which is Europe — and the role in history of the Semitic 
race has been also intermediary. The Semites have 
been the great middlemen of the world. Not second- 
rate in war, they have risen to the first rank in 
commerce and religion. They have been the carriers 
between East and West, they have stood between the 
great ancient civilisation and those which go to make 
up the modern world. ... To put it more particu- 


138 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

larly, Syria lies between two continents — Asia and 
Africa: between two primeval homes of men — the 
valleys of the Euphrates and the Nile: between two 
great centres of empire — Western Asia and Egypt; 
between all these, representing the Eastern ancient 
world, and the Mediterranean which is the gateway 
to the Western and modern world.”* 

It has already been shown that the Old Testament 
is affected by Syrian, Babylonian and Egyptian in- 
fluences. But surely no other influence would really 
affect it so much as the Canaanitish influence with 
which Israel was constantly in touch after the Exo- 
dus from Egypt; and it is one of the curious features 
of the conflict, which is under consideration, that God 
did not drive out all the Canaanites from the land of 
promise, but left some there that they should be a 
scourge in the sides and thorns in the eyes of Israel 
until Israel should perish from off the good land 
which the Lord God had given them. In the first and 
second chapters of Judges we find this all verified in 
the history of Israel. 

Here then are left the elements of a continual con- 
flict, and it would be strange indeed if this conflict 
should have no influence upon the character of the 
Old Testament Scriptures; and it is certainly in the 
nature of a miracle that the main purpose of the Old 
Testament was not in any serious way affected by the 
peculiar environment in which it had its origin, for 
we are forced to conclude that this Testament, though 
influenced somewhat in its literary dress by the envi- 
ronment out of which it came, is, nevertheless, from 
the beginning to the end, in its moral character, ex- 
actly what it ought to be, in view of its purpose and 
the times for which it was intended. 

* G. A. Smith, “ The Historical Geography of the Holy Land/' 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY 139 

Perhaps I can make my whole meaning clear by a 
simple illustration. The plan of God in Jewish his- 
tory is not unlike the Jordan which flows through the 
Land of Canaan. This is a somewhat circuitous 
river, at times moving in zigzag courses over short 
stretches of almost level bed; but it dashes with im- 
petuous velocity over a heavy down grade, which 
causes the water to leap and plunge as if it were car- 
ried along by some mad fiend which is seeking to 
demonstrate what wild confusion may be produced by 
the combination of power and disorder. This river 
has its main fountain source in the region of Mt. 
Hermon, and to some extent, constantly preserves 
its original character, notwithstanding a number of 
tributaries empty into it before it reaches the Dead 
Sea. 

The whole course, characteristics, and movements 
of the Jordan strikingly suggest the stream of Is- 
raelitish history. Undoubtedly the main stream of 
human history must all the time be identified with 
God’s chosen people, for they represent the religious 
line as the rest of the world represent the intellectual 
line. Now this Israelitish stream can be distinctly 
discerned through all the ages right along from Abra- 
ham until it empties into the? Dead Sea of the Disper- 
sion. There are, however, tributaries which flow into 
it, as there are those which flow into the Jordan. 
Chief among these tributaries may be mentioned the 
Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Canaanitish and Gre- 
cian streams. These all mingled their waters in the 
Israelitish stream, and to some extent modified the 
colour of that stream, though in no important sense 
changing the character of the waters. 

Referring to the Jordan again, as strikingly illus- 
trating the line of Israelitish history, it is interesting 


i 4 o SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

to notice that between Banaias and the Lake of Gen- 
nesaret is a considerable lake called “ Waters of 
Meron,” through which the Jordan makes its way. In 
this lake the stream is lost for several miles, as the 
stream of Jewish history was lost during the bondage 
in Egypt. At the end of this lake the Jordan again 
continues its course until it reaches the lake of 
Gennesaret where, as a distinct stream, it is again 
lost in the waters of that lake, fitly representing 
what happened to Jewish history during the captivity 
in Babylon. Then again the Jordan takes its course 
to the Dead Sea, which sea strikingly represents the 
Dispersion, as there its waters end as a river, and 
are lost completely in the Dead Sea. So it is with 
the Jews. Since the dispersion they have been com- 
pletely broken up as a people and have no longer 
any distinct nationality. 

It would be instructive to follow the line of progres- 
sive development of Jewish history, as already indi- 
cated, by referring to the evolution of the names of 
God, as we find them coming up in that history. This 
treatment would greatly accentuate the view I have 
taken in this volume, and would do much to make 
clear and emphatic the great fact that the main pur- 
pose of God in calling out the Jewish people from 
other nations was to develop the true idea of religion, 
and to prepare man for the coming of Him who 
would reveal to us the true idea of God as well as 
the true idea of ourselves. This review would also 
show that the Jewish Scriptures are practically the 
background for the New Testament Scriptures, as 
the idea of God in the Old Testament is the back- 
ground wherein his holiness and righteousness are 
revealed in order to the better understanding and ap- 
preciation of his revelation as Father wherein infinite 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY 


141 

love swallows up all the types and shadows and legal- 
istic requirements of the Jewish institution. 

A very cursory review of the Old Testament will 
reveal at least three very striking facts: 

(1). There is a supernatural element in the book 
everywhere present from the beginning of Genesis to 
the last of Malachi. This element is decidedly unique 
when other religious books are compared with the 
Bible. Some of these books seem to recognise the 
supernatural, but this is done in such a fantastic way, 
and with such little bearing upon the general charac- 
ter of the books as to make the appearance of the 
element a weakness rather than strength, and often 
makes the whole contention of the books practically 
ridiculous. Not so of the Old Testament. It seems 
to be set in a background of human weakness which 
makes this supernatural element really necessary in or- 
der to maintain the unity of the book and make its 
contention altogether reasonable. Indeed, without 
this element the Old Testament is the miracle of 
miracles, though in that case it can never be regarded 
as a truthful representation of history. But when the 
supernatural element is accepted, the whole develop- 
ment of the book moves on without any apparent 
difficulties, and finally ends in a beautiful harmony of 
all its parts. 

Now it may be truthfully said that the polytheism 
which reigned among the surrounding nations was 
really a helpful fact in bringing out the supernatural 
element of the Old Testament. This polytheism, 
from one point of view, had a decided tendency to 
demoralise Israel, but from another point of view it 
was really helpful in establishing the element of the 
supernatural which is so predominant in the Old Tes- 
tament. This tendency may be seen by watching 


142 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

the influence of our Missionaries in heathen lands. 
If there were no words for “ gods ” and no element 
of the supernatural in the religions of Asia and Africa, 
little progress could be made by our missionaries in 
establishing the true idea of the God whom we wor- 
ship. Even the captivity in Babylon emphasised the 
supernatural element in the religion of the Jews. Ever 
after that time they had also a more definite idea of 
a future life. 

(2) . A certain unity, which has already been indi- 
cated, is one of the striking features of the Old Tes- 
tament. Though the various books were composed 
at different times and by different persons, covering 
a wide range of circumstance and conditions, it is 
evidently a remarkable fact that there is a manifest 
unity through all these books, and making for a defi- 
nite end. It is simply impossible for the rational 
critic to overlook this unique representation of the 
Old Testament. It is unmistakably designed from be- 
ginning to end, and this design is so apparent that it 
becomes at once the leading feature in the interpre- 
tation of the Old Testament teaching. Everything is 
looking toward a culmination, and this finally comes 
out in the advent, history and final death, burial and 
resurrection of the Christ. 

(3) . The union of morality and religion is a dis- 
tinct feature in all Old Testament teaching. It is 
freely admitted that here and there some of the best 
characters presented in the Old Testament come far 
short of a high morality; but these characters are 
faithfully portrayed without extenuation of guilt, and 
yet with no over-emphasis upon this guilt, in view of 
the age in which these characters lived. It is also 
admitted that in some instances the morality which 
seems to have divine approbation can scarcely be re- 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY 143 

garded as equal to that which our Lord Jesus Christ 
taught. But I have already shown that this could not 
reasonably be expected, since it was necessary for God 
himself to proceed no faster with his revelation than 
the people were able to hear and heed. Jesus Himself 
said to his Disciples, “ I have many things to tell 
you, but you cannot bear them now.” In the light 
of a progressive development, and in the environment 
wherein the Old Testament was set, no higher moral- 
ity than what we find could reasonably be expected. 
Indeed, even this morality rises higher and higher as 
we trace it through the dispensations. It reached its 
highest in the affirmation of the prophets, and the 
Old Testament closes with a lament over the deca- 
dence of the Jewish system of worship in which even 
the priests had become corrupt, and had, therefore, 
lost their legitimate influence in the sanctuary of the 
Most High. But the morality itself is emphasised 
more and more as the people seem to realise it in their 
lives less and less. In short, the Old Testament, 
though born out of stress and storm, with an intellec- 
tual current sweeping over all moral development, 
nevertheless continues through age upon age to em- 
phasise righteousness as fundamental in the saving 
of men and in the development of the plan of salva- 
tion, so that when Christ came, God was “ made unto 
us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemp- 
tion,” while all the types and shadows of the Old 
Testament were then fully met and fulfilled. 

This leads me to say that the Bible, as a whole, 
must be studied in its relation to the whole universe. 
We study a text of the Bible in its relation to the en- 
tire book, or at least that is the way a text ought to 
be studied. But the Bible is simply a text in the uni- 
verse, and is, in an important sense, the key which 


i 4 4 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

unlocks many of the mysteries of that universe. It is 
therefore of the greatest importance that the Bible 
should have its legitimate place in the Cosmos. When 
this place is given to it there will no longer be any 
doubt about its value in coordinating Nature and 
Revelation in all the unfolding of that wonderful 
Providential scheme which is evidently everywhere 
present in all the facts of history. The habit of study- 
ing the Bible as if it had little or no connection with 
the whole Cosmos is surely a mistake. The Bible is not 
only characterised by a very distinct unity in its various 
parts, but it is, as a whole, a part of the universe, and 
also an important part. When it is studied from this 
point of view, it not only throws light on many dark 
places in physics, governments, and religion, but at 
the same time it also receives light from all these when 
they are reverently studied as coordinates of the Bible. 

To sum up the whole case, as regards the records 
of the book of Genesis, my theory is that the earlier 
records were kept in the language of the antedilu- 
vians, and were brought over the deluge by Noah and 
his family; and when the confusion of languages took 
place at Babel, these records continued in the hands 
of Shem and his children, as the line through which 
the Messiah would come; and as Noah lived fifty- 
eight years after Abraham was born, and as Shem was 
a contemporary of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, it is 
not difficult to see how all these records could have 
been fully written and preserved until the beginning 
of the sojourn in Egypt. 

When the people were driven out from Babel they 
settled in the various regions mentioned in the tenth 
chapter of Genesis, and doubtless carried with them 
traditions of the Creation and the Flood, such as we 
now find on the tablets which have recently been dis- 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY 


145 

covered; but in the confusion of language which re- 
sulted, owing to the expulsion from Babel, these 
traditions soon became corrupted, retaining only so 
much of truth as to make it highly probable that they 
all came from the same source, while they now furnish 
strong corroborative evidence that the book of Genesis 
is entirely trustworthy. The records of this book 
were doubtless kept in the original language until the 
time of Joseph’s death when they were buried in his 
tomb; and when his body was taken up to be carried 
into the land of promise, according to the pledge given 
him before he died, these records all came into the 
hands of Moses, from which it is highly probable the 
book of Genesis was written. 

Now if this position be correct, it is easy to see 
how all contemporaneous history would be fragmen- 
tary and unsatisfactory, while the records of the en- 
tire Pentateuch would be wholly free from any cor- 
rupting influence whatever. Furthermore, since Paul 
tells us the Jews were entrusted with the Oracles of 
God, we may well believe that all the records which 
follow the Pentateuch were equally well preserved 
from any substantial errancy by the same providence 
which guarded the records of Genesis. Consequently, 
I think we are at liberty to believe that, notwithstand- 
ing the environment in which the Old Testament is 
set, it has come down to us as a book entirely trust- 
worthy in every respect, and is exactly what it ought 
to be as a background for the New Testament, 
wherein the adumbrated light of the old covenant is 
seen in the rising of the Sun of Righteousness “of 
whom Moses and the prophets did write.” 

In these facts we have a striking corroboration of 
the view of the conflict between good and evil which 
is set forth in this volume. It is also comforting to 


146 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

notice that in all this conflict the good finally triumphs. 
This is the emphatic and cheerful note in all history, 
and it is nowhere more clearly seen than in the origin 
and historic development of the Old Testament 
Scriptures. Surely it is forever true that God is 

From seeming evil still educing good, 

And better thence again and better still, 

In infinite progression 

But the particular point, to which just now atten- 
tion is called, is the fact that the conflict between 
good and evil, right and wrong, heart and head, re- 
ligion and animalism has produced all the suffering 
that has marked the way of human history. This 
statement is so apparent that it really needs no illus- 
tration or enforcement. It is a conscious fact in the 
experience of every careful observer of human events. 
It lies on the surface of all history. It throbs in the 
life of all the living. It stands at the door of every 
road that leads to progressive development throughout 
all ages. It is, therefore, worth while to notice in 
what particular ways suffering has been and is still 
a remedial agent in human history. 

In order to get this whole matter before us in its 
true light it is necessary to go back to the “ sentences ” 
pronounced upon the actors in the tragedy of Eden. 
These “ sentences ” are embraced in the following 
quotation from the second chapter of Genesis: 

“ And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because 
thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, 
and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly 
shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of 
thy life; and I will put enmity between thee and the 
woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it shall 
bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY 


147 

the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow 
and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth 
children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and 
he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, 
Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy 
wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I com- 
manded thee saying, Thou shalt not eat of it : cursed 
is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of 
it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles 
shall it bring forth to thee ; and thou shalt eat the herb 
of the field ; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat 
bread till thou return unto the ground; for out of it 
wast thou taken : for dust thou art, and unto dust 
shalt thou return.” 

A careful consideration of these “ sentences ” will 
reveal the fact that the serpent is the only actor in 
the transaction who is really cursed. It is not neces- 
sary just now to satisfy ourselves fully with the 
nature of this curse, though its justice will be admitted 
by every impartial judge. There was no excuse what- 
ever for this intrusion of the evil one through the 
animal in the affairs of human life. The act was 
wholly voluntary, without provocation or temptation 
from any outside influence, so far as the statements 
are concerned. Nevertheless, the following extract 
from Hugh Miller’s “ Footprints of the Creator,” 
entitled “ The Progress of Degradation ” is surely 
very suggestive: 

“ Though all creatures be fitted by nature for the 
life which their instincts teach them to pursue, natural- 
ists have learned to recognise among them certain 
aberrant and mutilated forms in which the type of 
the special class to which they belong seem distorted 
and degraded. They exist as the monster families 
of Creation. . . . Among these degraded races, 


148 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

that of the footless serpent, which goeth upon its 
belly, has been long noted by the theologian as a race 
typical in its condition and nature of an order of 
hopelessly degraded beings borne down to the dust 
by a clinging curse; and curiously enough when the 
first comparative anatomists in the world give their 
readiest and most prominent instance of degradation 
among the denizens of the natural world, it is this 
very order of footless reptiles that they select. As 
far as the geologist yet knows, the Ophidians did not 
appear during the secondary ages, when the monarchs 
of creation belonged to the reptilian division, but were 
ushered upon the scene in the times of the Tertiary 
deposits, when the mammalian dynasty had supplanted 
that of the Iguanodon and Megalosaurus. Their ill- 
omened birth took place when the influence of their 
house was on the wane, as if to set such a stamp of 
utter hopelessness on its forlorn condition as that set 
by the birth of a worthless or idiot heir on the for- 
tunes of a sinking family. The degradation of the 
Ophidians consists in the absence of limbs, an ab- 
sence total in by much the greater number of their 
families, and represented in others, as in the boas and 
pythons, by mere abortive hinder limbs concealed in 
the skin ; but they are thus not only monsters through 
defect of parts, if I may so express myself, but also 
monsters through redundancy, as a vegetative repe- 
tition of vertebras and ribs to the number of three 
or four hundred forms the special contrivance by 
which the want of these is compensated. I am also 
disposed to regard the poison-bag of the venomous 
snakes as a mark of degradation. It seems, judging 
from analogy, to be a protective provision of a low 
character exemplified chiefly in the invertebrate fam- 
ilies — ants and centipedes, and mosquitoes, spiders, 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY 


149 


wasps and scorpions. The higher carnivora are, we 
find, furnished with unpoisoned weapons, which like 
those of civilised man, are sufficiently effective simply 
from the excellence of their construction and the 
power with which they are wielded for every purpose 
of assault or defence It is only the squalid savages 
and degraded boschmen of creation that have their 
feeble teeth and tiny stings steeped in venom and so 
made formidable.” 

But we are not concerned so much just now with 
the effect of this curse as we are with the curse itself. 
The fact that Adam and Eve were not cursed at all 
is very significant, and really furnishes us the key to 
the solution of the problem which is under considera- 
tion. Let us notice carefully the phraseology : “ Unto 
the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy 
sorrow,” etc. Now this language clearly implies that 
she may have had sorrow before this time, but the 
result of her transgression would greatly multiply this 
sorrow, while certain other results would follow which 
perhaps would not have followed had she never eaten 
of the forbidden fruit. “Unto Adam He said be- 
cause thou hast done this, etc., cursed is the ground 
for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days 
of thy life ; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth 
to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in 
the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou 
return unto the ground ; for out of it wast thou taken : 
for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” 

Now the first thing to be noticed is that the curse 
pronounced is not upon Adam but upon the ground, 
and this for his sake . Surely this is very suggestive. 
Prior to this time Adam was placed in the garden 
to “till” it— not merely to “dress” it. The same 
word in the original is used in chapter ii :5, where it is 


150 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

said “ there was not a man to till the ground/’ and in 
verse 1 5, “ The Lord God took the man and placed 
him in the garden to till it.” And in verse 23, “ The 
Lord God sent him forth from the garden to till the 
ground from whence he was taken.” All this clearly 
shows, that it was never the purpose of God to have 
man an idler in the garden. Every circumstance em- 
phasises the fact that man was intended to be active 
in tilling and keeping the garden and consequently 
the sentence, pronounced upon him, after his fall, 
must be interpreted in the light of his previous history. 
That history shows that labour was the very law of 
his being, and that a continuation of this cannot be re- 
garded in any sense as a curse entailed upon him. 
Nevertheless, there is a great difference to be care- 
fully noted between the labour prior to the catastrophe 
in Eden and labour after Adam was expelled from 
the garden. He is to eat of the fruit of the ground 
in sorrow all the days of his life, also thorns and 
thistles shall hinder his success in tilling the ground, 
so that his labour now will no longer be a delightful 
exercise, but will be attended by a weariness of the 
flesh which was altogether unknown before he was 
expelled from the garden. 

What then must we understand the sentence upon 
man implies? Popular Theology has cursed him. But 
as already remarked in another place, the Bible his- 
tory does not seem to justify the use of so harsh a 
word in connection with man’s disobedience. He was 
driven from the garden, and consequently placed in a 
new environment. This new environment involved 
new conditions of life. So far as I can see the main 
facts may be summed up as follows: Man’s spiritual 
nature was dethroned and his animal nature enthroned. 
By his act of disobedience he followed the animal 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY 151 

rather than the spiritual ; and now the sentence pro- 
nounced upon him is what is logically involved under 
the new conditions in which man is to live. In other 
words, God tempers the sentence in accordance with 
man as he now is , with his spiritual nature dethroned 
by the animal, and consequently as an animal man he 
must make his way through trial, struggle and suffer- 
ing until “ the seed of the woman shall bruise the 
serpent’s head.” 

It is worth while to notice the fact that even the 
curse pronounced upon the ground was for man's 
sake ; was to make his new environment suitable to 
the new conditions of his life; was not a curse upon 
man himself, as has already been intimated, but the 
ground was cursed so that it might bring forth thorns 
and thistles in the pathway of man, and thus pre- 
cipitate a struggle for existence which, so far as we 
can see, is the only way that man could be developed, 
and especially his spiritual nature developed, which 
had been assigned to a subordinate position by the 
enthronement of his animal nature. 

It will be seen, therefore, that God’s dealing with 
man, after the fall, was exceedingly merciful. The 
prohibition against eating of the fruit of the tree of the 
knowledge of good and evil involved death, but there 
was no other consequence involved, insofar as any- 
thing is stated in the prohibition. “ In the day thou 
eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” From this state- 
ment it is evident that death must follow the disobedi- 
ence, and this is what really did follow, so that death 
has passed upon all men, for all have sinned. Not that 
all have sinned in Adam, as effete Theology teaches, 
but all have sinned in consequence of Adam’s sin. 
It is inconceivable that God would hold the whole 
human race guilty for Adam’s sin, but Adam’s de- 


152 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

scendants must necessarily inherit Adam’s weakness, 
which weakness necessarily terminates in death. 
When the spiritual man was dethroned and the animal 
man became dominant, it is impossible to believe that 
life could be perpetuated interminably. The death 
which followed in Adam’s case was the logical conse- 
quence of his disobedience, for with the animal nature 
predominant death must inevitably result, and result- 
ing in Adam’s case it must follow upon all his descend- 
ants as a consequence, though these descendants are 
not in any sense guilty of Adam’s transgression, for 
that view of the matter is neither scriptural nor 
scientific, nor is it in any way necessary in order to 
satisfy all the conditions involved. 

In the transgression Adam gained a certain intel- 
lectual supremacy, but he lost that spiritual regnancy 
which was the special endowment which gave him per- 
sonal intimacy with God, and assured to him undis- 
turbed felicity in the Garden of Eden. When he was 
cast out of the Garden a new environment and new 
conditions of life had to be prepared for him. He had 
now to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow, and 
thus his labour became a painful struggle rather than 
a delightful recreation, such as it had been in Eden. 
The thorns and thistles which would grow were around 
him and served to hinder his progress in subduing 
nature, and thus made labour a trial instead of a 
pleasure. 

It is certainly remarkable that the whole course of 
human history has illustrated and enforced the sen- 
tence which God pronounced upon Adam. Every- 
thing that is worth much in agriculture or horticul- 
ture must be cultivated, and this can be done only by 
the sweat of man’s brow. However, weeds and bram- 
bles do not have to be cultivated. They grow every- 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY 


153 

where without the least care, and usually grow most 
luxuriantly just where man is cultivating the soil in 
fulfillment of the divine command. How does it hap- 
pen that thousands of years ago a fact is stated which 
finds an exact fulfillment in every subsequent age of 
human history? Does it not look like an inspired 
prophecy rather than an accidental coincidence? 

But however this may be, it is certainly true, that 
struggle was to be a fundamental factor in the progress 
of the race, and this struggle would necessarily in- 
volve human suffering to a large extent. But, as al- 
ready intimated, this suffering would be remedial in 
its effect, and this undoubtedly was its main purpose 
as an ordained factor in human development. There 
are at least three ways in which suffering may be 
regarded as remedial: 

( 1 ) . As a chastisement. It is well known that chas- 
tisement, when properly administered, is a remedial 
agency. It has always been true, as Solomon declared, 
viz., “ Spare the rod and spoil the child.” The rod 
has been an essential element in the civilisation of 
the world. The pride of intellect, which became the 
dominant characteristic of fallen man, can be humbled 
sometimes only by chastisement ; hence “ whom the 
Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son 
whom He receiveth; and if we are without chastise- 
ment, then are we bastards and not sons.” Neverthe- 
less, “ no chastisement for the present seems to be 
joyous” (suffering is never joyous), “but afterwards 
it works the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them 
who are exercised thereby ” (or who make a proper 
use of the suffering through which they pass). But 
in all cases suffering may become a profound and sig- 
nificant means by which the intellectual man may be 
subordinated somewhat to the suppressed spiritual 


154 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

man; and where the spiritual man is in the ascend- 
ency, as in the case of a consecrated Christian, suffer- 
ing may still have a refining influence, and “ work out 
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
glory.” 

(2) . Suffering may be a warning. It may act as 
a guard against threatening evils. Pain to the physi- 
cal man is a danger signal which tells of coming dis- 
aster, and ought to be followed by such prudential 
means as will avoid the danger threatened. In the 
conflict between good and evil, between the heart and 
head, between religion and infidelity, there is constant 
need of a danger signal such as suffering furnishes. 
It has already been demonstrated that evil is a dis- 
order, a disturbance of harmony, a discord in the 
music of the universe. But this discord is not readily 
perceived by the pride of intellect which dominates 
the spiritual man. Pride assumes intellectual suprem- 
acy, and this assumption refuses to see any danger 
which comes in the way of self-sufficiency. Hence 
pride must be humbled before progress can be made. 
It is, therefore, a merciful providence that suffering 
is made to act so as to warn the sufferer against 
coming dangers. The sick room is often the signal 
for the necessity of a change in the manner of living, 
and when this signal is heeded the sick patient is 
put in the way of health. It is true here, as elsewhere, 
that “ he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” 

(3) . Suffering, when properly considered, is itself 
a remedy for many evils with which we are afflicted. 
The similia similibus curantur is certainly true as re- 
gards suffering. It takes suffering to cure suffering. 
This law is a well-known law of physics, and it is 
equally true with respect to metaphysics. It is a 
law of the mind as well as of the body. The scrip- 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY 155 

tural injunction that we must “ weep with those that 
weep ” is just as necessary as that we must “ rejoice 
with those that do rejoice.” Rejoicing with those that 
weep will not cure the sorrow of the sorrowful. It 
is only a sorrowing heart, or one who has passed 
through the fires of trial, that can help those who are 
tried or who are suffering. Fannie Fern said a true 
thing when she declared that she did not want a man 
to preach to her who had never been tempted as she 
had been, or never had suffered as she had suffered. 
It often happens that a preacher is practically useless 
for any very effective service until he passes through 
the furnace of suffering. When he has a baptism of 
this kind he often surprises his friends on account 
of the new unction with which he preaches. His 
sermons come to his audience now with healing in 
their beams. His whole attitude seems to be changed 
from what it formerly was, and that which brought 
pain to him has practically transformed his nature and 
has given him a new power with which to deal with 
struggling souls. He may not himself be conscious 
of the change, but every needy heart in his audience 
will understand the power of the new message which 
he delivers. Truly has Carlyle said that Dante could 
write as he did only because he had had an experience 
which practically took him to hell. Comedies could 
not be divine unless they were forged out of experi- 
ences of suffering. 

Looked at, then, from the point of view of human 
experience, as indicated in all history, it must be 
evident to any reasonable thinker that the sentence 
passed upon our first parents was remedial in a high 
degree rather than a curse, as it has usually been 
regarded. Even death itself was a blessing, as I have 
already intimated in another part of this work, and 


156 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

physical death, which has passed upon all men, is 
the necessary consequence of the transformation 
which took place in Adam’s constitution when he 
chose intellectual supremacy rather than heart al- 
legiance. His act of disobedience placed him at once 
out of correspondence with his environment, cut him 
off from fellowship and personal relations with his 
Creator, made him entirely unfit to remain in the 
garden of delights, and consequently the best thing 
that could be done for him was to place him in a 
new environment with which he could be in intimate 
correspondence. 

Mr. Herbert Spenser cannot always be trusted with 
respect to definitions, but he has given us a defini- 
tion of life which may be regarded from a scientific 
point of view as practically correct. He defines life 
“ As the continuous adjustment of internal relations 
to external relations,” and this statement may be fur- 
ther simplified by defining life as a continuous corre- 
spondence with environment. Death is the falling out 
of this correspondence. This falling out of corre- 
spondence may be complete or it may be partial, but 
to whatever extent it is real, to that extent it is 
death. When a man loses his hearing he is out of 
correspondence in that respect with his environment, 
and so far he is practically dead; and when he loses 
the use of all his senses he may be considered as 
completely dead. When a man is dead in sins, he is 
out of correspondence with the environment of law 
and righteousness, though he may be alive to sin, 
for sin is unlawfulness. Adam was both dead and 
alive when he was cast out of Eden. He was dead 
to his former environment; for he was out of cor- 
respondence with this environment ; he was now under 
the dominion of the animal, and this was practically 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY 157 

death to the spiritual man, without which he could 
no longer live in communion with his Creator, as 
had been the case before the overthrow in Eden. At 
the same time he was alive, so far as his animal 
nature was concerned, but even this could not con- 
tinue for a very long period, since the physical man 
must necessarily return to dust out of which this 
man was formed. 

Now all this helps us to understand the nature of 
the consequences of Adam’s transgression. In the 
day he ate of the forbidden fruit he did most assuredly 
die; for he at once fell out of correspondence with 
the environment in which he had been placed. He 
had gained knowledge. Had perhaps risen from an 
intellectual point of view, but he immeasurably lost 
in other respects. In the conflict between good and 
evil, between the head and heart, between the spiritual 
and the animal, the animal had triumphed, and this 
threw the whole man out of correspondence with his 
normal environment and made it necessary for him 
to retire from Eden to which he was now practically 
dead. 

In the new environment to which he was trans- 
ferred, he was subject to new conditions by his Cre- 
ator. These conditions were not curses, but really 
blessings, though somewhat in disguise. The struggle 
which immediately began was practically the old 
struggle which resulted in Adam’s fall, though this 
struggle would now continue in an altogether differ- 
ent environment. This environment was suited to 
the new conditions of man’s existence. One of these 
conditions being that suffering, though unpleasant at 
the time it is endured, may become a means to the 
development of the highest good. Hence it may be 
truthfully said that what often appears to be dis- 


158 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

asters are, when rightly interpreted, blessings in dis- 
guise. 

Let us now illustrate this point by a few examples in 
modern history: 

When the great fire of London swept a large por- 
tion of the city to destruction, men held their breath 
and wondered if the city would ever recover from the 
disaster which had befallen it. But it was not long 
until a new London, phenix-like, arose out of the 
ashes, and this new London was a great improvement 
upon the one which had been destroyed. A like re- 
sult followed when Chicago was burned, and when 
Baltimore was burned. When Galveston was almost 
destroyed by the flood, few men thought that it would 
ever rise again. But Galveston now is almost a 
miracle of beauty and strength compared with what 
it was before the flood. The same will be true of 
San Francisco. “ Weeping may endure for the night, 
but joy will come with the morning.” Already there 
are unmistakable signs that the new San Francisco, 
which is rising out of the ruins of the old, will far 
exceed the old city in everything that marks a genuine 
progress. 

Does all this prove that we must have evil in order 
that we may have good? Certainly not. Nor does it 
prove that suffering is necessary in order that we may 
have joy. It simply proves that if disasters come they 
may be made the means of advancement, and if suf- 
fering comes it may be turned into gladness. How- 
ever, in any case, whether it be disaster or suffering, 
it will prove a blessing to those only who are properly 
“ exercised thereby,” or who make a wise use of the 
dark night of weeping which comes before the morn- 
ing of rejoicing. Longfellow has put this truth in 
beautiful verse in his “ Rainy Day ” : 


159 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY 

Be still, sad heart, and cease repining, 

Behind the cloud the sun’s still shining; 

Thy fate is the common fate of all, 

Into each life some rain must fall, 

Some days must be dark and dreary. 

Passing over numerous instances in Old Testament 
history which might be used to illustrate the conflict 
between head and heart, for the remainder of this 
historical review, it will be sufficient to confine our 
investigation to the progress of Christianity. This 
progress, like all other progress, has been in zigzag 
courses; though speaking broadly the general result 
has been a decided gain on the side of heart suprem- 
acy. The first conflicts of the Christian religion were 
mainly with Greek intellectualism and Jewish legal- 
ism. Both of these aimed at head supremacy. They 
both practically ignored the heart. The good with 
the Greek was the beautiful, and the right with the 
Jew was according to a strict construction of the 
law. Even when ritualism came in as an influential 
element, its influence was predominantly on the side 
of intellectual culture; so that from whatever point 
of view the subject may be considered, it will soon 
appear that the outside opposing forces of Christian- 
ity throughout its entire history have been mainly on 
the side of intellectualism. 

It is equally true that within the Church itself, the 
conflict has been largely between head and heart; and 
it is also true that where the head has gained and 
held supreme authority, the result has been disas- 
trous to the best interests of the Christian religion. 
Any one who will read the history of dogmas will 
find abundant proof for the statement just made. 
Beginning with the Nicene Creed, these creeds have 
been storm centres all the way down through the ages ; 


160 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


and it should be noticed that in every case these 
creeds mark intellectual supremacy rather than the 
supremacy of love, or the heart. 

However, if we examine carefully the progress of 
Christianity, during the first one hundred years of its 
history, it will be seen that its most signal triumphs 
were achieved because it made its appeal to the heart 
rather than to the head. During this period its 
progress was so great that it reached the western 
bounds of Europe before the middle of the second 
century. The Atlantic Ocean arrested its march on 
the western confines of England. Starting from Pal- 
estine it developed southward, northward and west- 
ward, but chiefly in the last direction, thereby illus- 
trating what seems to be a law of progress, viz., “ the 
star of empire westward takes its way.” It is a 
curious and interesting fact that while Christianity 
did not progress eastward, from the place where it 
started, all false religions have gone that way instead 
of in a westerly direction. Mohammedanism made a 
strenuous effort to conquer by the sword the coun- 
tries lying westward from where it started ; but though 
gaining a foothold for a time, it was finally driven 
back and now, even in Turkey, the Mohammedan 
population constitute comparatively an insignificant 
element in the Turkish Empire. It surely cannot be 
a mere accident that Brahmanism, Buddhism and Mo- 
hammedanism have progressed eastward while Chris- 
tianity, though spreading southward and northward, 
has made its way around the world westward; and it 
now seems that its final triumphs will continue to be 
westward until the nations lying westward of America 
shall feel its power and come under its influence. 
Consequently its final struggle in its march westward 
will be with the forces of those religions which have 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY 161 

been throughout the history of Christianity moving 
slowly eastward. 

But however this may be, it is certain that the pres- 
ent tendencies of development in the Christian 
churches is slowly but surely moving towards a reign 
of heart life rather than of pure intellectualism. Pi- 
lot’s question, What is truth? no longer indicates 
the most important quest. The day of human creeds 
has passed. The intellectual hair splitting of the 
fourth century and the Middle Ages has given place 
to the practical. Christianity to-day, wherever it is 
decidedly influential, is a heart life, and commands at- 
tention only where it is seeking the highest good. The 
ethical aim of the new day is the Summum Bonum. 
Paul’s dictum to the Thessalonians, “ Prove all 
things, hold fast that which is good,” is far better 
than Pilot’s question, especially when the latter has 
no practical content; for even the proof in Paul’s 
dictum must be understood as practical rather than 
theoretical. But in any case the main thing is to 
hold fast to the good. The theology of the past has 
largely concerned itself about what is right , or what is 
truth? but the religion of the present concerns itself 
mainly with what is good. The former came out of 
intellectual supremacy, the latter out of heart suprem- 
acy. The time was when even the Christ was subjected 
to the analytical dissecting knife of the theologians. 
He was placed on the dissecting block and cut up into 
numerous pieces to suit the metaphysical conceptions 
of theological doctors; but the Christ of the present 
day is largely a concrete personality, predominated by 
a great heart in sympathy with every human soul that 
aspires to a better life. 

Of course, it must be admitted that intellectualism 
is still rampant in certain places, and is still influential 


162 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

wherever it receives hospitality. This manifests it- 
self in several directions. Though creed-making has 
ceased to occupy the attention of even the metaphysi- 
cians of the churches, it is still true that intellectualism 
has a powerful influence on the religion of the present 
day. Not a few of those who profess to be followers of 
Christ never seem to rise much higher in their religi- 
ous conceptions than to regard Christianity as a 
system rather than as a life. Everywhere that 
denominations differ from one another, this difference 
is largely expressed in theological metaphysics rather 
than in the supremacy of that love which is greater 
than either faith or hope. To be sound in the faith, 
with many, still means to be orthodox in thinking 
rather than in feeling and doing. These professing 
Christians seem to be satisfied when they are sure that 
their religious system is right , no matter what be- 
comes of their practice. 

However it is a hopeful sign of the times that 
these theoretical dogmatists are rapidly losing their 
hold upon the very life of Christianity, and with their 
failure there seems to be a better day dawning for 
the better things of the Christian religion. Whoever 
will study carefully the present predominant tenden- 
cies cannot fail to see that we are practically just now 
crossing the line which separates the old from the 
new. The old controversies have largely lost their 
power to shape the destinies of the Church. Candour 
compels every student of ecclesiastical history to ad- 
mit that these intellectual controversies have constantly 
made for division, and have resulted in emasculating 
Christianity by dividing it into numerous rival sects. 
But the spirit of union is now in the very air, and this 
union, if it is ever realised, must come about by so co- 
ordinating head and heart in our religious develop- 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY 163 

ment as will give to each its normal influence. When 
this is done the prayer of our Divine Lord will be 
fully answered, and we shall then have a united 
Christendom going forward to conquer the world for 
our sovereign Lord. 

Another important fact, with respect to the history 
of the past, deserves some special consideration. The 
antagonism between Capital and Labour has had much 
to do with forming the ethical notions of our modern 
life. This antagonism undoubtedly finds its origin in 
a selfish individualism, while out of this individualism 
has grown up the competitive system which has al- 
most everywhere prevailed during the past ages. This 
system practically sets a premium upon intellect, 
while at the same time the heart is almost entirely 
ignored. It emphasises the struggle for the survival 
of the fittest, and the fittest in this case is always 
the one who can gain success; and it often happens 
that in this struggle all moral considerations are 
practically discounted, if not entirely ignored. 

Of course, it is easy to say that this system is from 
beginning to end contrary to the religion of Christ, 
but it is another thing altogether to remedy the evils 
which this competitive system has wrought during 
the struggle of the ages. It has come down to us 
as a sort of sacred legacy, and most people now re- 
gard it as unchangeable as the laws of the Medes 
and Persians. It is true that occasionally there is 
an appeal for just laws to regulate the relation be- 
tween Capital and Labour, but for the most part 
these laws are inoperative, even when they are wisely 
enacted. The trouble is deeper than the sphere of 
legislation. It lies at the bottom of a heartless civili- 
sation, and consequently no amount of legislation will 
ever cure the evil. Doubtless wise legislation will do 


164 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

something in the right direction, but until religion is 
enthroned, and thereby the heart-life brought prom- 
inently into commercialism, it is useless to hope for a 
better state of things than has prevailed in the past. 

It is certainly a sad commentary upon the selfishness 
of human nature that over eighteen centuries of 
Christianity have had so little influence upon commer- 
cial life. Nevertheless, it is worth while to consider 
what that life would have been without the influence 
of Christianity for the time mentioned. Surely the 
condition of things is bad enough, even when we take 
the most charitable view that is possible, but it is 
not difficult to understand how a much worse state 
of things would prevail if all influence of Christianity 
should be excluded. But the thing that is needed most 
is to give Christianity the right of way in our com- 
mercial life and make it a real power in shaping 
the relation between Capital and Labour, and then 
it cannot be doubted that a new era would soon dawn 
in the commercial world where now selfishness is 
the parent of innumerable vices. 

The fault of the past has been to practically eliminate 
religion from everything except the Church, and even 
in the Church it has often happened that a false re- 
ligion has prevailed rather than that which may be 
properly denominated the religion of Christ. It has 
already been seen that intellectual dogmas have had 
the first place in the evolution of Church life, rather 
than the ethical teaching of Jesus which has mainly 
to do with the heart. Of course, where the fountain 
is impure, the stream will be impure also. The Church 
has given to commercial life mainly the principles 
which govern it. At any rate, commercial life has 
looked to the Church for direction in the matter of 
right conduct. But as the Church itself has largely 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY 165 

failed to exemplify the sublime ethical teaching of 
Christ, it is almost unreasonable to expect that the 
world outside of the Church would hastily adopt the 
ethics of the Nazarene, while the Church, which is 
supposed to be His body, practically rejects His 
teaching. 

Looking at the present and the future, it may be 
asked what must be done as regards this competitive 
system which is so contrary to the spirit of true re- 
ligion? It is no doubt impossible to answer this 
question in a satisfactory manner to those who are 
steeped in selfishness, and who regard this competitive 
system as a sacred inheritance from the past ages. 
Nor is it possible to bring about a speedy reformation 
with respect to a matter which has so long ruled the 
world with despotic sway. Nevertheless, something 
can be done at once, and later on much may be ac- 
complished. 

The first thing to be considered is that no relations 
between man and man can be satisfactorily adjusted 
without admitting the dominance of the Christian 
religion. Jesus Christ is the solution of this question, 
just as He is the solution of all other questions re- 
lating to the highest good. He is the ethical standard. 
What would He do in any given case? is the question 
which must be foremost in every sphere of life where 
a common good must be emphasised. It has already 
been stated that a thing may be right in itself, and 
yet not specially important as a good to be attained, 
and consequently we must go on from right to the 
practical application of this right in human affairs 
so as to reach the Summum Bonum. But this must not 
be confined to the individual. Doubtless it must begin 
with him. But it ought to be exemplified in a com- 
munity of interests, so as to provide for a common 


1 66 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

good; and when this ideal is once realised, more than 
half of the trouble between Capital and Labour, and 
more than half of the evils of the competitive systems 
will have been overcome. But as long as commercial, 
life, from a mere intellectual centre, finds its ideal in 
success, no matter by what means, it is utterly hope- 
less to look for any great improvement through legis- 
lative enactments. Mr. Gladstone was right when he 
said that law could not make a man honest, but it 
makes it easy for him to be honest, and hard for him 
to be dishonest. Law has its proper place, but it is 
probably true that our twentieth century civilisation 
is hoping too much from law, even when it is wise 
and strictly enforced. The hope of the world is not 
in the enforcement of law, no matter how good this law 
may be, nor how well it is enforced. But the hope 
of the world is to-day in the dominant influence of 
the religion of Christ, for this at once co-ordinates 
heart life with a legitimate intellectualism ; and when 
harmony, produced by this co-ordination, everywhere 
prevails, the need of legislation of any kind will prac- 
tically cease to exist. 

Another persistent conflict has for a long time been 
waged around what has been called the social problem ; 
and for the last fifty years this problem has been 
growing in importance. Somehow or other even a 
half worthy conception of the religion of Christ has 
wrought in the public conscience a feeling of brother- 
hood, notwithstanding the prevailing selfish systems 
which seek only the interest of the individual. Evi- 
dently this feeling has little or no organised force. 
It ought to be one of the most prominent character- 
istics of our modern Church life, but it must be con- 
fessed that such is not the case. The rivalry of sects 
at once limits the spread of brotherhood even from 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY 167 

a religious point of view; but much of the feeling is 
outside of the churches, and not a little of it practically 
ignores the religion of Christ entirely. Nevertheless, 
it cannot be denied that a feeling is growing, that the 
triumph of individual selfishness is not the highest 
good ; that a common good is better than even an in- 
dividual good; and that this common good is the 
ethical ideal for the days to come. 

As already intimated the growth of this feeling has 
been hindered by sectarianism in the churches, and by 
nationalism in the political sphere. All wars come out 
of this selfish nationalism. Each nation has been 
concerned chiefly, if not entirely, with its own good ; 
and this fact is carried to such an extent that the 
greatest evil of all times is tolerated in order that this 
supposed national good may be gained and sustained. 
This evil is war; and it is one of the sad facts of our 
twentieth century civilisations that no day has ever 
dawned upon the history of the world when greater 
preparations are made for war than at the present 
time. There is, however, one bright spot in this dark 
picture. The very means by which war is sought to be 
perpetuated, may finally result in a universal peace for 
the world. Science and Christianity are working hand 
in hand with respect to this matter. Modern war 
equipment is reaching a point where wars may soon 
be impossible; for the means of destruction are in- 
creasing so rapidly that war may be no longer a 
question of the best cannon, the best soldiers and the 
best equipment of these soldiers, but will be simply a 
question of strategy, and, consequently, the nations 
will have to resort to peaceable negotiations rather 
than to the arbitrament of the sword in order to settle 
their difficulties. 

But the final cure for this great evil is the freaking 


1 68 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


down of the divisional lines which must come about 
through the prevalence of the religion of Jesus Christ. 
When there shall be no Jew and no Greek, no bond 
and no free, no male and no female, but when all 
shall be one in Christ Jesus, at least when these dis- 
tinctions shall not be counted, then wars will be im- 
possible and a common brotherhood, seeking a com- 
mon good, will practically prevail throughout the 
world. All this should be exemplified in the Church 
of Christ, and it will be when the union of God’s peo- 
ple shall be a fact as it is now simply “ a hope de- 
ferred.” 

All this was evidently the predominant thought of 
Christians through the primitive age of the Church. 
Whoever will take the trouble to look over the writ- 
ings of the Ante-Nicene Fathers cannot fail to notice 
at least three things: 

(i). The number of Christians, during the first 
three centuries of the church, was much greater than 
is conceded by such historians as Gibbons. Writers 
like Doctors Lightfoot, Ramsey and Orr have done 
good service for the cause of Christianity by showing 
most conclusively that the early days of Christianity 
were marked by almost a marvellous success in gaining 
adherents. It is true that during the latter part of the 
first century and first half of the second century we 
have very little trustworthy evidence concerning the 
progress of the Gospel. Nevertheless, what evidence 
we do have is to the effect that this progress was almost 
phenomenal, and when Church history emerges from 
the underground of the Hiatus , there can be no doubt 
about the fact that great conquests had been made by 
the Christian forces. 

It should also be remembered that these were the 
days when the progress of Christianity was most stub- 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY 169 

bornly contested by both Judaism and Heathenism. 
It is readily admitted, as has already been suggested, 
that some things in both Judaism and Heathenism 
tended to help the Gospel in its progress. Still, with 
all the advantages that might be enumerated, it is un- 
questionably true that the marvellous progress which 
Christianity made during this period can be accounted 
for only when we take into consideration its own in- 
herent strength. 

(2). It is certain that what the Apostle says to the 
Corinthians was true of the Christians generally, 
viz., that “not many wise after the flesh, not many 
mighty, not many noble, were called.” Doubtless, 
here and there were to be found exceptions to this 
general rule. Professor Orr has done good service in 
showing that even in the early age of the church some 
distinguished men and women became obedient to the 
faith, and he has used material, which has recently 
come to light through the exploration of the Cata- 
combs, with good effect, in proving his conten- 
tion. 

At the same time, if we take the testimony of the 
earlier Christian writers as well as heathen writers, 
including Tertullian, we are bound to the conclusion 
that the converts to Christianity, during the first three 
hundred years of its history, were mainly from the 
middle and lower classes. It is everywhere claimed 
by these writers that Christians could not and need 
not understand certain mysteries or recondite distinc- 
tions which were urged by the philosophers, both in 
and out of the Church. Professor Harnack sums up 
the whole of Christianity in four things : 

(1) . The one living God. 

(2) . Jesus as Saviour and Judge. 

(3) . The Resurrection. 


170 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

(4). Self-Control. 

These four things, he says, “ combined to form the 
new religion.” 

(3). This brings us to the last, and what was per- 
haps the most important from the human side of the 
matter, viz., Self-Control. During these early days 
Christianity was not a theory, but a life. While it 
affirmed steadily and unflinchingly its divine side, 
there was, however, constantly emphasis laid upon this 
divine side manifesting itself in the human life. It 
was not simply an intellectual conviction, although the 
sanctified intellect was always co-ordinated with the 
heart life; but no one can doubt that the heart life, 
during the period under consideration, was everywhere 
held to be pre-eminent. Indeed, this was a real nec- 
essity, owing to the initial step as regards the Chris- 
tian life, which was practically universally regarded 
as the new birth, which birth was from above. 

Unconsciously, perhaps, these early Christians were 
following the whole course of evolution, even from a 
scientific point of view. Nothing helps to explain the 
progress of Christianity, during its early history, bet- 
ter than this introduction of the divine into the human 
— this birth from above — which at once placed these 
early Christians into new relationships with both God 
and the world. 

Professor Harnack devotes a whole chapter to what 
he calls “ the Gospel of Love and Charity.” Chris- 
tianity at this period owed its progressive force largely 
to the fact that the lives of its adherents constantly 
emphasised the truth of their teaching. Like their 
divine master they practically lived what they declared 
was true. Professor Harnack shows that these early 
Christians manifested their love for one another in at 
least the following particulars: 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY lyi 

1. Alms in general, and their connection with the 
cultus and officials of the church. 

2. The support of teachers and officials. 

3. The support of widows and orphans. 

4. The support of the sick, the infirm, and the dis- 
abled. 

5. The care of prisoners and people languishing in 
the mines. 

6. The care of poor people needing burial, and of 
the dead in general. 

7. The care of slaves. 

8. The care of those visited by great calamities. 

9. The churches furnishing work, and insisting upon 
work. 

10. The care of brethren on a journey (hospitality), 
and of churches in poverty or any peril. 

It will be seen that in these things these Christians 
manifested in a very emphatic manner the heart life 
for which I am contending; and it should also be 
stated with emphasis that just as soon as the church 
became identified with the state and began to formu- 
late philosophical dogmas for the government of its 
members, there began a reaction in respect to conduct, 
and a decided tendency toward intellectual hair-split- 
ting, all of which made for division, and finally de- 
stroyed the unity of the disciples for which Christ so 
earnestly prayed. The following quotation from Pro- 
fessor Orr’s book on “ Neglected Factors in the Study 
of the Early Progress of Christianity,” strikingly con- 
firms all I have said about the problem we are consid- 
ering as it is illustrated in the history of the Church. 
He says: 

“ It has often been shown with abundance of illus- 
tration how revolutionary were the idea and principles 
of the holy and spiritual religion which had its birth 


172 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

in Judaea when introduced into the unspeakably cor- 
rupt society of the Graeco-Roman Empire. To the 
profligacy of that effete heathen world, Christianity 
opposed its own flesh, young life, and glowing spiritual 
ideals ; to its pride, the proclamation of a common fall 
and a common salvation; to its selfish egoism, the de- 
mand for a universal charity ; to its denial of the rights 
of humanity, the doctrine of the love of God, and of 
the spiritual dignity of man as made in the image of 
God; to its degradation of woman, the assertion that 
in Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor Greek, male 
nor female, bond nor free; to its contempt for labour, 
the recollection of the Carpenter, and the injunction, 
‘ Take thought for things honourable in the sight of 
all men.’ Opposed at nearly every point to the exist- 
ing Pagan order, it yet gave to the world of that time 
exactly what it needed, implanted within it the seeds 
of emancipation and renewal. If it could not save the 
old Roman Empire, it at least laid within it the foun- 
dation on which the rearing of a new order could 
proceed — rendered possible the rise of a rejuvenated 
and progressive Europe. The pure morals and blame- 
less, self-denying lives of the Christians, were the 
strongest points the Apologists for the new religion 
could urge in its favour. Thus Tertullian powerfully 
contrasts the private virtues and public morality of 
his fellow-believers with the foul conduct of the 
Pagans, and challenges his opponents to produce in- 
stances of Christians in the long list of those com- 
mitted to prison for their crimes. If there were ex- 
ceptions, it was only as it must happen to the healthiest 
and purest body, that a mole should grow, or a wart 
arise on it, or freckles disfigure it. 

“ The heathens themselves bore involuntary testi- 
mony to the superior excellence of the Christian char- 


THE PROBLEM IN HISTORY 173 

acter by appealing to it in rebuke of the lack of virtue 
in one another. ,, 

The following extract from Professor Harnack is 
also emphatic evidence with respect to the period we 
have had under consideration. 

“ The early Christians knew the Father in heaven ; 
they knew that God was near them, guiding them, and 
reigning in their life with a might of his own. This 
was the God they proclaimed abroad. And thus, in 
their preaching, the future became already present, 
while hard and fast recompense seemed to disappear 
entirely. For what further “ recompense ” was needed 
by people who were living in God’s presence, feeling 
with every faculty of the soul, aye, and with every 
sense, the wisdom, power, and goodness of their God? 
Moods of assured possession and of yearning, experi- 
ences of grace and phases of ardent hope, came and 
went in many a man besides the Apostle Paul. He 
yearned for the prospect of release from the body, and 
thus felt a touching sympathy for everything in bond- 
age, for the whole creation in its groans. But it was 
no harassing or uncertain hope that engrossed all his 
heart and being; it was hope fixed upon a strong and 
a secure basis, upon his filial relationship to God and 
his possession of God’s Spirit. . . . 

tl A living faith requires no special 'methods’ for 
its propagation ; on it sweeps over every obstacle, nor 
can even the strongest natural affections avail to over- 
power it. But it is only to a very limited extent that 
the third century can be regarded in this ideal aspect. 
From that date Christianity exerted her influence as 
the monotheistic religion of mysteries and as the 
powerful church which embraced holy persons, holy 
books, a holy doctrine, and a sanctifying cultus. She 
even stooped to meet the needs of the masses in a way 


174 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

very different from what had hitherto been followed, 
and she studied their traditional habits of worship and 
their polytheistic tendencies by instituting and organ- 
ising festivals, deliverers, saints, and local sacred rites, 
after the popular fashion.” 

Just how this great religious force practically con- 
quered the Roman Empire during the first three cen- 
turies of its history, and how it may again, after the 
reign of the apostasy, conquer the entire world, will 
be better understood when we have carefully consid- 
ered the mission of Christ as related to the problem, 
for it is from the Christological centre that we must 
proceed in all our investigations with respect to the 
religion which he founded and which His great Per- 
sonality alone can explain. 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST AS RELATED TO 
THE PROBLEM 


Star unto star speaks light, and world to world 
Repeats the passage of the universe 
To God; the name of Christ — the one great word 
Well worth all languages in earth or Heaven. 

— Bailey, “Festus.” 

And so the Word had breath, and wrought 
With human hands the creed of creeds 
In loveliness of perfect deeds, 

More strong than all poetic thought; 

Which he may read that binds the sheaf, 

Or builds the house, or digs the graves, 

And those wild eyes that watch the waves 
In roarings round the coral reef. 

— Tennyson, “In Memoriam.” 

He is the end of creation, containing the reason in Himself, 
why creation is at all and why it is as it is. — Alford. 

The nature of Christ’s existence is mysterious, I admit; but 
this mystery meets the wants of man. Reject it, and the 
world is an inexplicable riddle; believe it, and the history 
of our race is satisfactorily explained. — Napoleon. 

But chiefly Thou, 

Whose soft-eyed Pity once led down from Heaven 
To bleed for man, to teach him how to live, 

And, oh still harder lesson ! how to die. 

— Bishop Porteus, “Death.” 

The clouds hang heavy round my way 
I cannot see; 

But through the darkness I believe 
God leadeth me. 

’Tis sweet to put my hand in His 
While all is dim, 

To close my weary aching eyes 
And follow Him. 

Thro ’many a thorny path He leads 
My tired feet, 

Through many a path of tears I go, 

But it is sweet 

To know that he is close to me 
My guard, my guide. 

He leadeth me; and so I walk 
Quite satisfied. 


— “Christian Work.” 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST AS RELATED TO 
THE PROBLEM 


The Messianic expectation is a fundamental element 
in Old Testament history. It dawns in the promise 
made to Eve. It shines in the name Jehovah, or 
rather, as perhaps it ought to be spelt, Yahvey. It 
is typified in all the sacrifices made on Jewish altars. 
It sings in the Psalms : It speaks more or less through 
all the prophets, the last of whom uses this significant 
language : “ Behold I will send my messenger, and 

he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord 
whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple, 
even a messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in : 
Behold he shall come sayeth the Lord of Hosts.” 
Mai. iii :i. 

To understand somewhat the expectation of Israel 
and the hopelessness of the world without a realisa- 
tion of this expectation, it is well to remember that up 
to the close of Malachai’s prophecy, the Jewish nation, 
in many respects, had proved an unmistakable failure. 
Even their captivity in Babylon had resulted in only 
a partial good. But it is also true that all through 
the prophetic period there was a clearly ringing note 
which indicated a regenerated society of the Jewish 
people in the near future, that would illustrate a glori- 
ous period in Jewish history. This was the high ideal, 
and all the prophets more or less contributed to creat- 
ing it. Through stress and storm the Jewish people 
had come down through the ages, bearing in their 
177 


178 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

national life a great mission, holding in their records 
a great treasure, and illustrating in their very failures 
the utter impossibility of man, under the best condi- 
tions to establish real and permanent communication 
with God, such as would restore the life which was 
lost in Eden and bring peace to a troubled world. All 
this struggle, suffering and sorrow was a part of the 
preparation of man for the reception of the “ Coming 
One ” who would contain within Himself the neces- 
sary conditions to meet the whole case of man’s return 
to God. While the captivity had failed to help the 
Jewish people in their national life, it was, after all, 
followed by a distinct gain with respect to their reli- 
gious life. They were completely cured of their 
idolatry. Prior to the exile this was their besetting 
sin, and it was for this, more than for anything else, 
that they were carried away into captivity. When 
they returned they seemed to give up their following 
after strange gods. 

There was also at least a partial return to the sanc- 
tions of the law of the Lord. This law was restored to 
something like the authority it was intended to have 
as a religious force with the Jewish people. How- 
ever, in the main it was ^n observance of the letter 
rather than the spirit which characterised the average 
Jew in his obedience to it. Still this much was some- 
thing gained and formed a definite basis upon which 
the Messianic conception of life might be reared. 

Another important development may be ascribed 
to the exile period. The religious prominence of the 
Jewish system came more distinctly into view. The 
priesthood came into power. There was at least more 
formal recognition of the God who had brought them 
out of the land of Egypt, and this fact turned the 
minds of the people to the priests and Levites who 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


179 

were the spiritual leaders. These, however, soon fell 
away from all reality in the service, and finally, in the 
days of Malachai, represented nothing but a form of 
godliness without any power. Following a purely in- 
tellectual apprehension of the law, every act of wor- 
ship became practically nothing more than a formal 
observance of the things the law enjoined. In short, 
religion was little more than head without heart, and 
this represented practically the outcome of the history 
of the race, struggling under the domination of the 
animal over the spiritual, and seeking to know God 
through types and shadows and numerous other ways 
by which God made His revelations to men, but which 
revelations were only preparatory to the revelation 
which he finally made through His Son. 

The advent of Jesus was the Harbinger of the new 
era for the world. He was the fulfillment of all the 
types, prophecies and hopes of the ages preceding His 
coming. He met in His great personality all the con- 
ditions necessary to restore man to the position which 
he had lost by the transgression in Eden. Indeed, the 
program of Christ involves much more for man than 
that which he enjoyed before the fall ; and it is this fact 
which helps to justify and explain the long period of 
suffering intervening between the first paradise and 
the second ; for this suffering was not only a prepara- 
tion of man for the “ Coming One/’ but has also been 
a means of man's development under the reign of Him 
who was Himself made perfect through suffering. It 
will help us in our understanding of the problem which 
we are seeking to solve if we take into consideration 
carefully the mission of Christ to the world. 

But just here we are met with a problem which 
must be solved before we can fix the place of Christ 
in the historical development of the struggle which 


180 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

has been under consideration in this volume. With 
many, Christ Himself is a greater problem than that 
which He is to solve, and it is therefore useless to 
offer Him as the solution of the struggle of ages, as 
reconciler of the conflict between head and heart, 
unless He Himself can be co-ordinated with the facts 
of history and the laws by which the universe is gov- 
erned. Just here we must step reverently. The task 
before us has engaged the most earnest thought and 
prayerful attention of some of the greatest minds since 
the advent of Christ; and the very fact that these 
minds have differed as to the mission of Christ, and 
what He was in His personality, should make us some- 
what cautious in dogmatically affirming any irrevo- 
cable conclusion. Nevertheless, just such a conclusion 
must be reached before Christ can be offered as the 
solution of the problem of the ages. 

In considering this great problem, the first factor 
to be taken into the account, is what has been called 
the modern view of the world. This view is probably 
owing to the influence of science upon the thought of 
the times in which we live. There can be no doubt 
about the fact that the theory of evolution has prac- 
tically revolutionised the thinking environment of the 
present day. This theory affirms the uniformity of 
nature, and consequently when applied to morals or 
religion, the scientist reaches the conclusion that the 
Humanitarian view of Jesus is the only one that har- 
monises with the theory of evolution. This Humani- 
tarian view is simply that Jesus is the highest develop- 
ment of humanity, the noblest interpreter of the mean- 
ing of life, but His transcendence, which involves His 
deity, cannot be admitted, as this would at once break 
into the law of uniformity, which is fundamental in 
the theory of evolution. 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 181 

Doubtless this view has, what the Germans call the 
Zeitgeist , on its side. But how has this Time-Spirit 
itself been created? May it not be the result of a 
dominant influence which is itself of doubtful author- 
ity? It is not necessary here to question the popular 
theory of evolution. This may be conceded freely so 
far as the physical universe is concerned ; but even al- 
lowing the doctrine of uniformity with respect to 
nature quite as far as Darwin himself could wish, may 
it not still be true that in the higher reaches of the 
moral or spiritual life this doctrine of uniformity has 
its limitations ? But we do not have to go beyond the 
physical world to find numerous “ breaks ” in the chain 
of uniformity where progress is made possible only 
by the injection of a new principle or new power, al- 
though this does not in any respect ignore that which 
goes before it. Without the Inorganic the Vital could 
not follow, and without the Vital the Sentient would 
be impossible, and on the Sentient is engrafted the 
Self-Conscious. Solid earth lies at the bottom of a 
progressive series which finally ends in the creation 
of man, who receives from his Creator a spiritual en- 
dowment which crowns him with the image of God. 
The law of progress is not retarded, but is accelerated 
and made intelligible by these different stages in the 
development toward the spiritual. 

However, as already intimated, so far as our present 
purpose is concerned, it is not necessary to find fault 
with that view of evolution which requires uniformity 
in the development of nature. What I now wish to 
emphasise is the fact that thinkers who are under the 
influence of this Time-Spirit, to which reference has 
been made, are likely to interpret all spiritual facts 
under the influence of this Zeitgeist. Every great 
discovery, which has had a dominating influence upon 


1 82 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


the thinking mind, has more or less controlled that 
mind to reach conclusions with reference to matters 
lying entirely outside of the legitimate sphere of the 
discovery made. When the law of gravitation was 
discovered by Newton, the new view of the universe 
was soon used to overthrow all the traditions of the 
past. However, the sober second thought made it 
evident that many conclusions reached were wholly 
irrelevant and did not in any way depend upon the 
law of gravitation. 

Our Humanitarians certainly do not reason in a 
vacuum. They do not hesitate to charge those who 
hold to the deity of Christ with being influenced by 
the traditions of the past, or in other words by the 
Time-Spirit in which they have been reared. No 
doubt this is true with respect to many, if not with 
respect to all, who hold to the transcendent character 
of Christ. It would be strange indeed, if the struggle 
of the ages, the historic unrollment of the great provi- 
dential scheme of salvation, the prophetic lights which 
have shined on every page of that scheme, the types 
and shadows of the Jewish institution, full of sugges- 
tiveness with respect to the Coming One, should be 
entirely lost upon the consciousness of an age wherein 
Bible circulation, missionary propaganda and the flood 
of religious literature must be regarded as one of its 
distinguishing features. The notion is incredible that 
these things should not create a Time-Spirit which 
must more or less influence the thinking of the age. 
But what I claim is that the man who starts from the 
scientific point of view, accepting the laws which 
he finds in nature, is likely to be governed by these 
laws when he passes into the spiritual realm. In other 
words, when he practically breathes the atmosphere 
of evolution, he will judge everything from the en- 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 183 

vironment in which he is placed. This is a difficulty 
which must be confessed with respect to our reason- 
ing. Archimedes said he could lift the earth from its 
centre if he could find a fulcrum for his lever. We 
need a fulcrum outside of our environment on which 
to place our reasoning lever, but while we are under 
the influence of a Time-Spirit our reasoning may be 
like trying to lift one’s self in a basket. Nevertheless, 
it is important to note the fact that the Humanitarian 
is just as guilty of trying to lift himself in a basket 
as is the man who believes in the deity of Christ largely 
because he has formed this conviction from a Time- 
Spirit which has controlled his thinking. 

But what is the objection which the Humanitarian 
makes to the transcendent view of Jesus? Undoubt- 
edly Humanitarianism has done much for the world. 
It has emphasised the value of the teaching of Jesus, 
His wonderful character, His marvellous self-abnega- 
tion for the good of others, hence His splendid altru- 
ism; and all these things need to be emphasised and 
certainly properly belong to the religion which Christ 
came to establish. But after all, many will feel that 
this is only a segment of the circle which comprehends 
the whole of the Christ. Now there is another side 
which must be considered before it is possible to co- 
ordinate and harmonise the character of Jesus with 
the facts of history, the teaching of the Bible and the 
laws of the universe. That other side at once fixes 
our attention upon His Personality. Here we are in a 
sphere for the moment apart from His teaching, or 
what He did. We are now dealing with what He was 
and is; and we are at once confronted with the ques- 
tion. What did He claim to be ? 

The Humanitarian has always felt the difficulty of 
this question. Was he simply a man, though on the 


i8 4 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

highest round of the human ladder? Was he the full 
blown flower of humanity, as it was developed through 
the ages, but after all only a man? These questions 
would be answered in the affirmative by the Human- 
itarians who cannot deliver themselves from the 
Zeitgeist which the reign of physical science has 
created for them. They cannot understand how it is 
possible for Jesus to be the Divine man, — “ God with 
us,” — since they cannot accept the notion that God 
Himself could in any fashion enter human flesh and 
dwell in this earth-environment for even a short time, 
since that would at once contradict the law of Uni- 
formity which must prevail everywhere in the uni- 
verse. But it seems to me clear that God has entered 
human flesh in the personality of Jesus, unless we 
must utterly ignore what Jesus taught with respect to 
Himself and what the whole Bible seems clearly to 
point to in all it says from Genesis to Reve- 
lation. 

Of one thing I am perfectly sure, viz., Jesus Him- 
self clearly taught the view of His transcendence, un- 
less His biographers have wholly misrepresented Him. 
Are we shut up to the conclusion that they have thus 
misrepresented Him? If so, then how can we be sure 
of anything they have written? Evidently they were 
not much inclined to believe in His transcendence. 
They were dull of apprehension with respect to every- 
thing He said on that subject. They were wholly 
disinclined to believe in His resurrection, although he 
had definitely foretold this should come to pass. Even 
when he appeared to them after His resurrection, He 
marveled at their unbelief, and Thomas would not be- 
lieve at all until he had subjected the matter to a test 
that was satisfactory to Him. Undoubtedly the con- 
viction that Jesus was the Christ the Son of the living 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 185 

God, was a matter of somewhat slow growth, and even 
when Peter made this great confession, he probably 
did not understand the full, comprehensive import of 
it. The notion of Mrs. Humphrey Ward, in “ Robert 
Elsmere, ,, that the Disciples were easily deceived, and 
proclaimed His resurrection under a mental delusion, 
is contrary to all the facts of the case. They were 
anything but credulous. They were really doubters 
until it was impossible to doubt any longer. When 
they did surrender, they all doubtless echoed the senti- 
ment of Thomas “ My Lord and my God.” 

Humanitarians generally ignore an important ele- 
ment in the influences which operated upon the 
Apostles. Christ distinctly foretold that they would 
be imbued with power from on high, so that they would 
be guided into all truth. This guidance was to come 
with the advent of the Paraclete or the Comforter. 
The second chapter of Acts gives a concise, but very 
luminous history of how the promise of Christ was 
verified. Up to this time His Disciples had been 
somewhat doubtful as to the final result. Indeed, 
Peter who had made the confession that He was the 
Christ the Son of the living God, after Christ was cru- 
cified, said, “ I go fishing.” Evidently he was not sure 
of the future, and he was inclined to go back to his old 
avocation. Just prior to the crucifixion, this same 
Peter played the part of the coward by denying His 
master, while the other Disciples, with the exception 
of perhaps John, stood afar off and trembled for the 
result. 

But what a transformation took place on the day 
of Pentecost! This same Peter, when full of the 
Holy Spirit, became as courageous as a lion, while the 
rest of the Apostles were now ready to burn all the 
bridges and enter actively upon the conquest of the 


1 86 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


world, though they had to do this in the face of the 
sternest religious bigotry that ever perhaps existed in 
the history of the world ; a religious bigotry, too, which 
had for its dominating centre the supreme deity of 
God as the first affirmation in the Decalogue, which 
was the fundamental moral law of the land. In short, 
the conflict precipitated was around the very point 
of the claim of Jesus that He was the Son of God, and 
therefore Divine as His Father. 

Surely no one can for a moment suppose that sensi- 
ble men would have chosen the most difficult ground 
that could be occupied, in order to propagate the new 
religion. The Apostolic affirmation that Jesus is the 
Son of the living God at once precipitated an irre- 
concilable conflict between the Jewish religion and 
Christianity. Nevertheless, the Apostles did not 
seem to hesitate. In the first discourse which Peter 
preached, he concluded his most eloquent oration by 
declaring that the same Jesus that the Jews had cruci- 
fied, God had raised up and that He was then both 
Lord and Christ. There is perhaps no other case in 
history where such a distinct and emphatic trans- 
formation took place. Cowards were turned into 
heroes; ignorant, hesitating men were enlightened 
and became valiant soldiers in a conflict from which 
they no longer shrank. 

What was it that took place in their case to bring 
about this remarkable change ? Evidently it was 
something more than an ordinary evolution illustrat- 
ing the law of Uniformity. Perhaps it did not con- 
tradict this law. Perhaps, if we could see all around 
the periphery of the circle, we should understand that 
everything that took place on the day of Pentecost 
was simply a higher reach of the law of Uniformity 
with which we are not yet quite familiar. It is still 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 187 

true that there are more things in Heaven and earth 
than are dreamed of in the philosophy of Horatio. 

Just here is where the Humanitarian stumbles with 
regard to the incarnation. He cannot accept as truth- 
ful history the story of the Virgin birth. But why 
not ? He answers : “ It is contrary to the laws of 

uniformity, and consequently it cannot be true.” This 
is only another way of stating Hume’s objection to a 
miracle. He said, “ A miracle is contrary to human 
experience, and whatever is contrary to human experi- 
ence cannot be true, therefore, a miracle is impos- 
sible.” Every one now knows how sophistical this 
reasoning is. There are many things contrary, or 
rather out of the range of some people’s experience, 
while these same things are perfectly familiar to 
others. People who have lived all the time in the 
tropics have never seen it snow. Must we conclude, 
therefore, that snow is contrary to human experience ? 

How does the Humanitarian know that the Virgin 
birth is contrary to the law of Uniformity? There 
may be many things about that law that no one yet un- 
derstands. How many things in nature are coming 
to light every day that compel us to change our view 
with respect to what nature teaches? Not very long 
ago the caloric theory of heat was given in all our 
text-books without question. It was practically uni- 
versally accepted. But now that theory has been dis- 
carded in the light of the further knowledge of the 
co-relation of forces. This is only one of a thousand 
illustrations that might be given. Every day new 
wonders come to light in the realm of nature’s laws. 
Indeed, even the “ breaks ” that seem to interfere with 
the law of uniformity, may, when we understand all 
about them, be only links in the chain that binds all 
things together in one uniform, continuous progres- 


1 88 


SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

sion. “ One star differs from another star in glory/’ 
and yet these stars all contribute to a universal har- 
mony. The notes in a piece of music are quite differ- 
ent in many respects, some short, some long, some 
high, some low, some soft, some loud, but when occu- 
pying their right places, this very difference is the 
source of the harmony which is produced when these 
notes are sounded. 

The incarnation may seem to be a discordant note 
as regards the law of uniformity, but this does not, in 
fact, necessarily follow, even if that law is everywhere 
admitted. The incarnation may simply be a higher 
range of that law than anything with which we are 
now acquainted. We know very little of the spiritual 
realm. The very phrase which somewhat materialises 
the incarnation conception, is itself an extraordinary 
phrase. “ God with us/’ at once sets us to thinking, 
and at the same time bewilders us with its stupendous, 
far-reaching meaning. We are awed by its awful pos- 
sibilities, and yet we are calmed into reverence and 
silence as our faith tremblingly lays hold of the great 
things it suggests. We are at once transferred from 
the material to the spiritual, from the earthly to the 
Heavenly, from the human to the divine, and yet we 
have still one hand on the lower orders all the time. 
We do not let go entirely of the temporal, nor the 
earthly, nor the human. We simply grasp more firmly 
the spiritual, the Heavenly and the divine. 

Because we do not understand all about the incarna- 
tion, we have no right to question its possibility or even 
its probability. By and by we may know more than 
we now know. It would have been thought an in- 
credible thing if, only a few years ago, someone 
had affirmed the probability or even possibility of 
speaking thousands of miles by what is known as wire- 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 189 

less telegraphy. Would not every one have said such 
a thing would be a miracle, because at that time it 
was contrary to what was regarded as the law of uni- 
formity? But we now know that this fact simply 
lifts us into a higher sphere of the law that we sup- 
posed would be contradicted. Similarly it may be that 
when the veil is entirely removed from our eyes, we 
will be able to understand how even miracle itself is 
in harmony with all the laws of the universe. 

We are now prepared to apprehend more clearly and 
satisfactorily the remarkable Personality of Jesus, and 
how that Personality was constantly projected to the 
front by both Him and His Apostles during all of their 
ministry on earth. Jesus Himself, not only spake as 
never man spake, as one having authority, but His 
manner of speaking is one of the very things that is 
the miracle of His earthly life. If He was not what 
He claimed to be, viz., the Son of the living God, then 
He was not only an impostor in the highest degree, but 
He was also the most consummate egotist that ever 
walked this earth. The personal pronoun I has a 
prominent place in all of his teaching. A few pas- 
sages will suffice to illustrate this peculiarity. “ I am 
the way, the truth and the life ” ; “I am the light of 
the World ” ; “ Come unto me all ye that labour and 
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest ” ; “ I am not 
alone, but I and the Father that sent me ” ; “I am 
from above ; I am not of this world ” ; “ I and my 
Father are one ” ; “ I, if I be lifted up from the earth, 
will draw all men unto me ” ; “ I in the Father and the 
Father in me.” 

No such language as this would be tolerated in any 
one else. Even Mohammed made no such claim as 
that made by Jesus the Christ. All Mohammed 
claimed for himself was that he was “ the prophet of 


190 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

God.” Why do we tolerate the remarkable Person- 
ality of Jesus? Evidently because His life ever em- 
phasises the claim He made. Even in His death He 
shows His divine origin. No one ever died like He 
did. Truly has it been said that “ Socrates died like a 
philosopher, but Jesus Christ died like a God.” 

It is this Personality of Jesus more than anything 
else that makes Him what He is to the world. It is 
not specially His teaching, nor again His wonderful 
works. These helped to accentuate the claim which 
He made as to His origin and character. But there is 
something in His personality that reacts upon His 
teaching and what He did, and places the stamp of au- 
thority and power upon both, which otherwise could 
not exist. Jesus Himself is the miracle of history, 
not the miracles which he performed. This fact is 
perhaps the most important fact connected with the 
whole plan of salvation. From one point of view Jesus 
is the plan. To believe in Him, to obey Him, to fol- 
low Him is practially all there is in Christianity; and 
whatever, therefore, is not of Him, is useless so far 
as salvation is concerned. He it is, Who was “ made 
unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and 
sanctification and redemption. That, as it is written, 
“ 4 He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord/ ” 

But it is precisely this magnificent Personality 
which finds its root and power in His deity to which 
the Humanitarian objects. This Humanitarian mag- 
nifies the splendid eithics of Christ and honours His 
great commanding Manhood; but the real essence of 
His personality is persistently denied. On this ac- 
count the religious system of the Humanitarian is per- 
meated by ideas rather than by personality. It is head 
without heart. It is intellect without soul-life. It is 
logic without feeling. But Jesus built His kingdom 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


191 

in the hearts of His people. He did not ignore the 
intellect. He certainly did not set a premium upon 
ignorance ; but He realised what the new Version 
plainly declares, viz., that the heart has eyes. He 
sought to bring the heart into its regal position, to give 
it the regnancy which is its divine right, and thereby 
to lift up the whole man, body, soul and spirit, where 
he can live in the region of love, the greatest of the 
three that still abide. 

It is interesting to look at the Apostles’ triad in this 
connection, viz., faith, hope and love. The people 
generally in that day had been accustomed to ritual- 
ism. They were largely influenced by spectacular ef- 
fects. The Jewish religion itself was a magnificent 
ritualism. During the days of its greatest splendour, 
the temple service and all connected therewith, must 
have strongly appealed to the imagination. But the 
Apostle sweeps all this away in a few words, and 
leaves us entirely without anything except faith, hope 
and love, and the greatest of these is love. This was 
the touchstone by which Jesus tested character. He 
who loved much was the man Jesus commended. 
Orthodoxy with Jesus was measured by the greatest 
commandment. The human is still working on the low- 
est round of the ladder. Men are still worrying about 
articles of faith, and fellowship is mainly determined 
by what is called soundness in the faith. All this is well 
enough in its place, but would it not greatly improve 
our modern Christianity if we should begin to use the 
yardstick of love a little more than we have ever done 
in determining Christian character? The modern in- 
terpretation of the new commandment is generally lit- 
tle more than Judaism, and sometimes it is not even as 
good as that. We quote what is called the Golden Rule, 
which is the old commandment, and call it golden, 


192 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

and yet we do not live up to half its content. But if we 
compare this old commandment with the new, the old 
is certainly not even respectable pewter, for the new 
commandment requires us to “ love one another as 
Christ loved us,” and not to “ do unto others as we 
would have them do unto us.” In one case Christ is 
made the measure of conduct, while in the other case 
self is made the measure of conduct. The new com- 
mandment is therefore as much above the old as Christ 
is above self. 

But we cannot attain to the height of this new com- 
mandment until we accept Jesus the Christ as our 
Prophet, Priest and King. Our religion must become 
personal, not doctrinal. When it is personal it lays 
hold of the heart; when it is doctrinal it lays hold of 
the intellect. It may lay hold of both of these, but it 
must lay hold of the former or else the latter is of little 
or no use. Intellectual dogmas have very generally 
been destructive elements in the history of the church. 
Truly has Dr. Funk said: 

“ Among men in the earlier days, to discover the 
greatest man, the measuring-string was placed around 
the muscle. That was the age of Hercules. Then 
the time came when the measuring-string was placed 
around the head. That was the age of Bacon and 
Shakespeare. But the time comes in the rapidly ad- 
vancing future when the measuring-string will be 
placed around the heart, and he who measures most 
there will be most conformed to the Master, for he is 
greatest who most fully gives himself for others.” 

We are now prepared to look a little more 
specifically at the mission of Christ with respect to the 
particular things for which he came to this world. 
The following, at least, should be carefully noted: 

(i). Christ came to give life. Perhaps the most 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


193 

familiar words in our language are the words “ life ” 
and “ death.” But do we really know the meaning 
of these words? Have we any correct conception as 
to what is implied by them, or what is their full con- 
tent? It is not denied that Christianity is thoroughly 
scientific ; that is to say, there is nothing in what Christ 
taught or did that may not be harmonised with true 
science. We have already seen that even the higher 
reaches into the spiritual world may, after all, be 
exactly in line with the laws of nature, though we may 
not be able to understand all about these higher reaches 
while in the environment of the flesh. Paul saw 
things in the third Heaven which were unlawful to 
even mention, but these things may have been quite in 
harmony with the things he knew on earth, but the 
time had not come when the mystery of these things 
should be revealed. God’s revelation is a constant un- 
folding. The Bible itself is made up of a series of 
these unfoldings. The New Testament revelation of 
God is far in advance of the Old Testament revelation 
of Him. But the former does not contradict the latter 
any more than the full grown man contradicts the boy, 
or the opening of the flower contradicts the bud. But 
our knowledge of the Bible will continue to grow, even 
though the Bible itself should never receive another 
addition to its pages. The pages that already exist 
will expand and continue to expand under the influence 
of a growing Christian life, and these pages will also 
receive a new warmth and colour as they shall be 
studied through the heart life, which Jesus came to 
establish. 

But let us stick to the position we have assumed, 
that there is no necessary conflict between the teach- 
ing of Christ and science. Hence the words “ life ” 
and “ death,” when properly interpreted, will suggest 


194 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

no antagonism between true science and true religion. 
Life, as the word is used in the Bible, will be found to 
harmonise exactly with the biological law of science 
when both are thoroughly understood. Of course 
there is mystery when the word is considered from 
either the scientific point of view or from revelation. 
At the same time enough may be known to justify 
the affirmation that the word in both spheres means 
practically the same thing. 

In this connection we may refer again to the defini- 
tion of “ life ” and “ death ” as given by Mr. Herbert 
Spencer. Life is a continuous correspondence with 
our environment, and death is a falling out of this 
correspondence with our environment. We may now 
test this definition by appealing to the Scriptures. A 
passage in the book of Revelation is very suggestive. 

“ And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write : 
These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of 
God, and the seven stars ; I know thy works, that thou 
hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. 

Be watchful, and strengthen the things which re- 
main, that are ready to die; for I have not found thy 
works perfect before God.” 

Here was a church which had a name to live by, 
but was practically dead. It was no longer in corre- 
spondence with its environment; it had fallen out of 
the whole line of usefulness for which a Church exists. 
It was therefore dead, though it had still a name re- 
cognised among men. However, in this case there are 
a few things that still remain, but these were also ready 
to die, and surely would die unless they were strength- 
ened or established so that they would not fall out 
of correspondence with their environment. 

Surely there is a practical lesson in all this for 
every professing Christian. It is altogether possible 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


195 

to wear the Christian name, as an individual or as a 
church, and yet be really dead; and for the reason 
that life consists in keeping in correspondence with 
our environment, while death is falling out of this 
correspondence. Now the environment of the Chris- 
tian is spiritual; and consequently the Christian life 
can be assured only when this environment domi- 
nates us. It is precisely this fact that gives signifi- 
cance to Christ's mission as a life-giver. In Him we 
are lifted above the animal into the sphere of 
the spiritual, where the heart takes precedence over 
the head and where religion becomes man’s supreme 
joy as well as the expression of his highest good. 

It is just here where we touch the great personality 
of Christ; and it is for this very reason that a con- 
flict is precipitated at this point between Humanitarian- 
ism and the doctrine of Christ’s transcendence. “ In 
Christ Himself was life, and this life was the light of 
men, and this light shined in darkness, and the dark- 
ness comprehended it not.” This is the great state- 
ment of the Bible, and it is far-reaching in its compre- 
hensiveness. Let us look carefully at the steps in this 
progressive development, both upward and downward. 
In Him was life. That is the first step. Let us not 
misunderstand what is clearly implied here. All life 
has its beginning in God. He is the fountain of life. 
He has given this life to his Son. The next step is 
certainly very remarkable. This life is the light of 
men. Here it is plainly declared that the life in Christ 
is transmuted into light, and this becomes the light 
of men. The next step is this light shined in dark- 
ness, and the darkness comprehended it not. This 
last statement suggests a fearful responsibility. When 
we do not comprehend the light, the light becomes 
darkness, and then how great is that darkness! But 


196 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

the main fact to which attention is now called, is that 
life is the thing that shines, and this is quite in har- 
mony with the teaching of the Master when he says, 
“ Let your light shine so that others seeing your good 
works may glorify your Father in Heaven.” These 
goods works become the light that is seen flowing out 
of the life that is lived. 

All this has to do with the heart. The eyes of the 
head see only the form of things, while the eyes of 
the heart see the inner life. 

We cannot emphasise too much the fact that this 
life which shines is in Christ. While God is Himself 
light, His light has been transferred to His Son. 
Hence it is forever true that “ He that hath the Son 
hath life, and He that hath not the Son of God hath 
not life.” This statement of Christ places an impass- 
able gulf between the man who hath the Son and the 
man who hath not the Son. One of these has life 
and the other has not life. Consequently one of these 
has the light that enlightens the world, the other has 
the darkness that is great darkness. 

Notice how this accentuates the Personality of 
Christ in the matter of human redemption. It is not 
that we are to possess a system of doctrine concerning 
Christ, however correct that doctrine may be, in 
order that we may have life, but we must possess 
Christ Himself, for He that hath not Him hath not 
life. This fact distinctly shows how worthless human 
creeds are, even at their best, to give life to men. 
They may have a certain value from an intellectual 
point of view, but they have no real value for the 
heart ; and yet the heart must be reached and brought 
into saving relations with Christ Himself before it 
is possible for any man to be really and truly a light 
bearer in this dark, sinful world. 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 197 

Of course, it is not denied that knowledge has its 
value when it occupies its proper place; but it must 
not be forgotten that it was through the obtaining 
of illegitimate knowledge that man’s spiritual nature 
went down and his animal nature went up. Since 
then the intellect has been highly favoured in all our 
training schools, while the heart has been sadly 
neglected. Even now most of the prizes in our uni- 
versities and colleges are offered for intellectual 
achievement, while practically there are no prizes 
offered for the best boy and the best girl. With our 
educators heart life seems to be unimportant, or else 
it is taken for granted that this life will be developed 
some way or other without any special attention to it. 
This is the Scylla or Charybdis upon which our edu- 
cation is frequently practically wrecked. 

As already intimated, Christ makes most of the 
heart. His mission was really a mission to the heart. 
In seeking to give life, it is evident that He regarded 
the heart with special attention, and consequently 
faith in Him involved the affections as well as the 
intellect. We must believe with the whole heart in 
order to salvation, and when faith once possesses the 
whole heart, under its influence the intellect again 
becomes subordinate to our spiritual natures. 

Faith in the heart is Christ’s way to the new life 
in Him. “ He that believeth on the Son hath life. ,> 
Notice, it is not belief in something about the Son, 
nor in any special doctrine, either true or false. It 
is belief in or on Him, and in some instances, even 
a stronger preposition is used. It is eis in the Greek, 
instead of en. It is into in English, and not in or 
on. But to believe into Christ is to move up the 
whole nature Christward until the entire man, — body 
soul and spirit, — is dominated by the Christ-life. In 


198 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

this view of the matter faith covers the whole ground. 
True, there are other ways of putting the case in 
which faith is not mentioned; but these are only dif- 
ferent ways of treating the same thing. Baptism is 
an act of faith > and in this sense it is quite proper to 
say that we are baptised into Christ. “ Coming to 
Christ” is an act of faith, and in this sense it is 
practically equivalent to faith in Christ or into 
Christ; for we will not come to Him unless we be- 
lieve in Him. He Himself says “ You will not come 
to me that you might have life.” He gives life by 
our coming to Him, but we must have faith in order 
to come to Him, and if by baptism we put Him on, 
this is simply the formal act by which our faith is 
definitely and earnestly expressed. The following 
extract from a recent book, entitled the “ Philosophy 
of Christian Experience,” is very suggestive at this 
point : 

“ From all that has been said concerning the faith- 
relation between the soul and Christ, it follows that 
faith has nothing temporary about it, is not something 
which stands only at the beginning of Christian ex- 
perience and gives Christian experience its start, but 
is the permanent and abiding condition of the soul’s 
life. To believe in or on Christ is not an act which 
in the opening chapter of his spiritual history a man 
accomplishes once for all, but an act which he has 
forever to maintain and to repeat: it is not merely 
the method by which an initial crisis is overpast, but 
the method by which a true condition of character 
must find its support to the end ; and faith is not only 
the first push which starts the soul out of lifelessness 
into life, but the very breath which the soul must 
ceaselessly give forth if its life is not to die. For the 
spiritual problem remains ever unchanged. To win 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 199 

the life that is in Christ into itself — to sink itself into 
the life that is in Christ — that is the constant task 
by which the soul is faced. And if faith be but an- 
other name for such an identification and coalescence 
of Christ and the soul (and this is what we have 
found it to be), then the one thing - needful, not for 
an hour but for all time, is to believe. To speak in 
theological terms, no essential distinction between 
conversion and sanctification can be maintained : the 
faith which works the first accomplishes the second 
too. And the utter dependence upon the life-com- 
municating Christ, in which spiritual experience finds 
its commencement, is not to be outgrown or dis- 
carded, but to become deeper as the years go on. 

“The summing-up of the whole matter, then, is 
this, that the true faith-relation is established be- 
tween the soul and the life-communicating Christ 
when faith is taken as the actual passing of man’s na- 
ture into the nature of Christ, or, conversely, as the 
actual reception of the nature of Christ into the 
nature of man. Identification of the believer with 
Him who is believed is, in brief, the very essence of 
faith. When Christ is so entirely one with us that 
we have lost our being in His — when He thinks in 
our thought, gazes out through our eyes, moves in 
our activities, is heard in our speech — then alone has 
faith done its perfect work. Thus does a true belief 
make the source of life to become actually a part of 
ourselves: we have not to look outside of ourselves: 
for the Christ in whom the divine life comes down, 
for He is closer to us than any human companion- 
ship can be, yea, He is in our very hearts; and up 
from the deep wells of life, which through our union 
with Him have sprung within us, do the life-streams 


200 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

forever flow. Sweet, doubtless, is it to say that I 
am Christ’s; sweeter still to say that Christ is mine; 
but not even these utterances exhaust the triumphant 
anthem of faith. Faith, at its highest range, can say 
that His life and mine are so indissolubly united that 
they flow together in mystic, holy blending, which no 
words can adequately represent, that every barrier 
between us is broken down, so that it is no longer 
I that live, but Christ that liveth in me. The loftiest 
ideal that belief keeps in view is to possess our Christ, 
not as companion only, however close and faithful 
he might prove — not as dearest friend only, however 
changeless His friendship might be — but to possess 
Him as soul of our soul, life of our life. A vital 
belief makes exchange of Personalities with Christ. 
He is to dwell in our hearts through faith.” * 

While Christ is the great life-giver it must be re- 
membered that He gives this life through certain 
channels which he has ordained. The chief of these 
is faith; indeed, it is all, though other things are 
mentioned when the matter is considered from other 
points of view. But in every case this faith must be 
active enough to do the things which Christ has 
commanded, and thus manifesting its activity it lays 
hold and appropriates the promises. Consequently, 
this human side of life must be regarded in any ex- 
haustive treatment of the Biblical conception of life- 
giving. Nevertheless, behind all the conditions of 
salvation, such as faith, repentance, confession and 
baptism, there must be the life itself, which is always 
and everywhere the gift of God through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. This fact emphasises the importance of 
the new birth which is a birth from above. This in- 
volves dying to sin as an antecedent condition to the 
* Pages 189, 190, 194, 195. 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


201 


reception of the life which Christ bestows. The gos- 
pel is “ the power of God unto salvation to every- 
one that believeth.” When the Gospel is heartily be- 
lieved, crucifixion of the old man takes place ; and 
when this old man is buried, the new man in Christ 
Jesus takes its place ; and now the spiritual man is 
again reinstated in the position which was lost in 
the Garden of Eden. 

In this view of the matter we have both the divine 
and human sides represented, while both of these 
thoroughly harmonise in the salvation of souls. Grace, 
which is the hand of God, offers life through Jesus 
Christ our Lord as a free gift, and faith is the hand 
of man uplifted to receive the gift which comes 
down from “the Father of lights, with whom is no 
variableness, neither shadow of turning.” 

Thus it will be seen that the gift of life cannot be 
bestowed upon man except on condition that man’s 
attitude shall be changed toward God. In man’s 
alienated state he is out of harmony with the law of 
life, or to put the matter in scientific form, he is out 
of correspondence with the environment of life. Life 
being- in God, and communicated through Christ, it 
is necessary that man shall come into correspondence 
with God through Christ in order that he may be 
within the reach of the life which God giveth. Faith 
is that state of the soul which bridges over the chasm 
between man and Christ, and consequently to believe 
into Christ is to become so intimately associated with 
him that his life is transferred to the believer, so that 
it is no longer man himself, but Christ dwelling in 
him, that constitutes the life of the Christian. 

This intimate relation between Christ and His Dis- 
ciples is one of the marked features of New Testa- 
ment teaching. He is represented as the Vine and 


202 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


His Disciples as the branches. Now, as the branches 
receive all their life from the vine, so does the be- 
liever receive all his life from the Vine, even Jesus 
Christ. Again, our Lord is represented as the head 
of the Church while the members constitute His 
body. He is also the husband while the Church 
is His bride. In that wonderful prayer recorded in 
the 17th chapter of John, Jesus prays that His Dis- 
ciples may be one; that they may be one in the Father 
and in Him as He and the Father are one ; and it is 
significant that in this very connection this prayer is 
for those that believe on Him through the Word pro- 
claimed to the world. But no matter whether the word 
faith is mentioned or not, in all cases it becomes the 
connecting link by which Christ and His Disciples are 
united, though this faith is always associated with cer- 
tain acts (whether mentioned or not) by which it is 
definitely and formally made manifest. This fact will 
indicate why James says a faith that is not active is a 
dead faith; and it was scarcely necessary for him to 
say this, as any reflecting person ought to know that 
no faith which is inactive can lay hold of Christ, nor 
could a faith which is purely mechanical have vital 
connection with Him, since His call to faith evi- 
dently implies the ability of man to hear and believe, 
so that he can reach out his hand to receive the gift 
which God offers to him “ without money and with- 
out price.” 

To sum up the whole case: the life which comes 
from God is conditioned upon man’s placing himself 
in the right attitude to receive this life. He must 
come into normal correspondence with the spiritual 
that his own spiritual nature may be lifted up and 
restored to its long-lost supremacy. This part God 
will perform whenever man will place himself in the 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


203 

proper attitude of appropriation or acceptance of the 
gift which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. 

In this connection it is worth while to notice the 
fullness of this life which comes through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. There is a very suggestive passage in 
John’s Gospel concerning this matter. Jesus says, 
“ I came that they may have life, and may have it 
abundantly.” This is in harmony with the whole 
character of Christ, as well as His teaching. There 
is always an overplus, so to speak, in the measure 
He gives. He taught His Disciples the great lesson 
of giving even more than might be legally demanded. 
He told them that if they were compelled to go one 
mile, they should go two, and if someone took away 
their coat, they should give their cloak also. Christ 
was far from being a legalist. The spirit of the law 
with Him was higher than the law itself. He urged 
upon His Disciples the necessity of meeting every 
obligation under which the law placed them, but He 
went further than this, and required of them to give 
a measure pressed down and overflowing. It is not 
strange, therefore, that the life He gives should be 
in abundance, and every one who has experienced 
this life in the soul will be able to testify to its rich- 
ness and fullness in meeting all real needs. 

When Christ by faith comes to dwell in the soul, 
love for Christ supremely captivates the heart and 
destroys the love of sin and the world, and drives 
out every evil way. The heart which has heretofore 
been dominated by an unregenerate intellect, becomes 
now the center of an over-mastering principle 
through the influence of which the whole man, — 
body, soul and spirit — is brought into harmony. The 
intellect is no longer arrogant, dominating with 


204 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

autocratic power the spiritual nature, but subdued 
by the sweet influence of the new life which has its 
fountain in the heart, becomes now submissive to the 
divine will and willingly co-operates with every good 
influence in making every soul “ meet for the in- 
heritance of the saints in light/’ 

(2). Christ came to seek and to save the lost. This 
statement is in Christ’s own words, and it compre- 
hensively presents His whole program: 

He saw an overmazing love, 

He ran to our relief. 

Salvation is undoubtedly the keynote of Christ’s 
coming into the world. He was to save the people 
from their sins. The angel song at the nativity was 
a song of reconciliation. It was a proclamation of 
peace and good-will. It was a note of cheer for 
struggling souls — a new harmony in the universe, 
a promise of a new life for man, and an ushering in 
of a new age. Its sweetest music was in a sympa- 
thetic tone with human suffering and need. He came 
to seek and to save the lost. It was not a mission 
simply to educate man, to increase his knowledge 
with respect to things of the universe, nor again to 
develop his intellectual nature. Doubtless this much 
was intended to follow as a result of the acceptance 
of Christ’s intercession on our behalf, but His pri- 
mary mission was salvation, not education. The in- 
tellect had long held supreme sway; the heart had 
been practically subjugated and held under the con- 
trol of an unsanctified head. In the evolution of the 
ages the time had now come when the heart must 
be considered, when man’s religious nature should 
again be lifted into supremacy where the spiritual 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 205 

could dominate the animal, and through which means 
the whole nature of man might again be harmonised 
and brought into subjection to the will of God. For 
a long time the good had been more or less under 
the dominion of the evil, so that what ought to have 
been was not, while what ought not to have been 
was. With Christ’s coming a new current upon the 
sea of life was set in motion, and with it a new dis- 
pensation dawned, wherein lost souls may be made to 
rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 

The word “ lost ” here needs to be carefully con- 
sidered. It is not necessary to the object of this dis- 
cussion to determine exactly what that word implies, 
though this might be done without very much uncer- 
tainty. Nevertheless, it is, perhaps, better to leave 
the word just as it stands, and to regard the salva- 
tion which Christ came to bring as a salvation from 
a state of things altogether undesirable, and from 
which men were utterly helpless to deliver themselves. 
Personally, I have never been troubled very much 
about what hell exactly is. Whatever it may be in 
other respects, it is certainly a most undesirable place 
for a human soul to occupy. All that is said about 
it in the Bible, describes it as a “ bottomless pit,” as 
“ outer darkness,” as a place where the “ worm dieth 
not, and the fire is not quenched,” etc. Surely every 
human soul ought to seek to avoid such a place. It 
may be that some of our views of the word lost, or 
perdition, are exaggerated. It may be when we no 
longer “ see through a glass darkly,” our view with 
respect to dark things will be somewhat changed. 
But no matter how this is, it is undoubtedly true, that 
Christ came to improve our condition, to lift us up 
higher; to put us in the way of escaping from dan- 
ger, and to lead us by a safe road to new hopes and 


206 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

to “ an inheritance undefiled, and that fadeth not 
away in the Heavens.” 

But just here is where we meet the chief difficulty 
in dealing with the subject under consideration. It is 
much easier to convince men that Jesus is their Sav- 
iour, than that they are actually lost. Someway men 
persuade themselves that, after all, they are not lost. 
They are willing to concede that they may not be alto- 
gether just what they ought to be, and they are will- 
ing, furthermore, to accept the fact that Jesus Christ 
is their Saviour, and that He helps them in their 
efforts to be what they ought to be; but they are not 
willing to regard themselves as helpless without Him ; 
as entirely lost without His intercession, and as 
being “ without God and without hope in the 
world.” 

This is the rock on which many souls are wrecked, 
and it comes practically from the pride of intellect 
which has so long dominated the heart. The heart 
knows that it is hopeless without Christ, but the head 
will not concede what the heart is willing to admit ; and 
just here the struggle is precipitated which has been 
the struggle of ages; and this struggle becomes the 
more significant in view of the fact that in seeking 
to save the lost, Christ has to overcome this “ pride 
of life ” in every soul, before it is possible for Him 
to save that soul. Consequently while men believe 
and say that they are not lost, it is impossible for 
Christ to save them, no matter how anxious He may 
be to do so. 

In this respect, Christ’s mission is in every way 
scientific. There is nothing in all He has said or 
done, or proposes to do, that is not entirely in har- 
mony with the laws of nature when these laws are 
fully understood. Christ cannot save any one who 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


207 

is not willing to be saved. He Himself said, “ You 
will not come to me that you might have life.” But 
surely no one will come to Him who does not believe 
that He is lost. Christianity is not a contradiction 
of the laws of Psychology. It expresses in its real 
teaching the most perfect Psychology yet known; in 
fact the term Psychology, expresses only the half- 
way point in the upward tendency of the Christian 
religion. In its highest development it reaches a 
profound and comprehensive Pneumatology, and in 
the sphere which this term signifies all the ages and 
all the conflicts of the ages meet and harmonise. 
This is the sphere from which Christ works out the 
problem of human destiny. 

When Christ says, He came to seek and to save 
the. lost, notice how His Personality again comes into 
prominence. He it is that is seeking; He it is that 
is saving. It is not some abstract influence that He 
has started in the world, or that any one else has 
started, that is to seek men and save them. Doubtless 
many influences that are related to Christ and that 
are operated by men have much to do with saving 
the world. But, after all, there is a sense in which 
only Christ can save. Men must come to Him, and 
He will give them rest. He, if He be lifted up from 
the earth, will draw all men unto Him. 

While it is perfectly true that, in the Bible, salva- 
tion is ascribed to many things, it is equally true that 
there is a sense in which Christ alone is the Saviour 
of men. A few quotations will make this perfectly 
evident. 

“ He is the stone which was set at nought of you 
the builders, which was made the head of the corner. 

“ And in none other is there salvation, for neither 
is there any other name under Heaven that is given 


208 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


among men, wherein we must be saved.” — Acts 
iv:n-i2. 

“ Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all ac- 
ceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to 
save sinners; of whom I am chief.” — I Timothy L15. 

“ Wherefore also he is able to save to the utter- 
most them that draw near unto God through him, 
seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” 
— Hebrew vii : 25. 

“ Thou shalt call His name Jesus, because He will 
save His people from their sins.” 

It is worth while to notice from what it is Jesus 
specially saves. This, I think, is an important mat- 
ter. He was to save His people from their sins. The 
Apostle Paul, in summing up the facts of the Gospel, 
declares that Christ “ died for our sins according 
to the scriptures.” Evidently the key to our lost 
condition is found in the phrase “ Our sins.” What 
is it that separates between God and man? Nothing 
but our sins. When these are taken away, there is 
at once a reconciliation. Jesus came to put away 
sin, to make a propitiation for our sins, and thereby 
bring man again into favour with God. 

It will be seen from the foregoing considerations 
that one great feature of the mission of Christ is to 
save men, and this salvation is, first of all, chiefly 
a salvation from our sins. Hence, from this point 
of view, as well as from what has already been stated, 
it is abundantly evident that this salvation implies a 
new creation, a birth from above, a distinct passing 
over from death into life, from the power of Satan 
to God. No shallow sentimentalism, nor again even 
a brilliant civilisation, from a purely intellectual point 
of view, can suffice for the radical change which must 
take place when a lost soul is lifted into newness of 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


209 

life. Sin must be dealt with and conquered before it 
is possible to reach that fullness of salvation which is 
offered through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

It has been said in regard to sinners and sin, that 
six things must be considered, viz., the love of sin, 
the practice of it, the state of it, the guilt of it, the 
power of it, and the punishment of it. The former 
three relate to the sinner, the latter three to sin. 
Faith, repentance and baptism refer to the former, — 
the love, and practice and state of sin; while re- 
mission, the Holy Spirit and the resurrection relate 
to the latter, — the guilt and power, and punishment of 
sin. Hence faith destroys the love of sin ; repentance 
destroys the practice of it; baptism the state of it; 
remission the guilt of it; the spirit the power of it; 
and the resurrection the punishment of it. 

In the light of this analysis, it will be seen that 
Christ is in some way related to all these things, and 
thus, in the end, our salvation is through Him, who 
is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctifica- 
tion and redemption; or in short, He is, in His great 
Personality, the whole of what is called Christianity. 

The mission of Christ in this respect is beginning 
to be felt in all departments of our modern life. Sav- 
ing the lost has introduced a new system of economics. 
Waste is no longer tolerated by men of clear vision. 
The time was when more than half of values was 
thrown away. Now everything is used in the produc- 
tion of thrift. Salvation is the keyword which un- 
locks the doors which everywhere lead to success. 
Saving the lost is the real business of the twentieth 
century in reference to all material things. 

But this is equally true as to spiritual activities. We 
are rapidly coming to regard no character as so bad 
that it is beyond redemption. Seeking and saving the 


2io SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


lost is the meaning of all modern reform movements. 
Our hospitals, sanitariums, homes for the friendless, 
etc., all point to the matchless power of Christ upon 
the uplift of the world. The new age, which is just 
dawning, will find its most distinct and noblest heart- 
beat when all its best energies shall be devoted to seek- 
ing and saving the lost. 

(3). Christ came to show us the Father . It is not 
proposed here to discuss the various theories con- 
cerning the Fatherhood of God. Much profitless 
controversy has been waged concerning this matter, 
some contending that God is the Father of all men, 
whether they are Christians or not, while others hold 
strongly to the view that Christians only can claim 
for themselves the Fatherhood of God. Now it 
seems to me that this question cannot be settled by 
dogmatic interpretations of a few special passages 
on either side. The whole trend of the Bible must 
be taken into consideration. Undoubtedly the Old 
Testament does not reveal very clearly the Father- 
hood of God in any sense. In that Testament He 
is known as simply God, or Jehovah God, or the 
Lord of Hosts, the Creator, and as the Almighty. 
Of course there are still other names by which He 
is called in the Old Testament, but not anywhere 
is he called “ Father ” in the sense in which that 
term is used in the New Testament. When Jesus 
taught His disciples to pray, “ Our Father Who Art 
in Heaven,” He practically announced a new revela- 
tion, even if this appellation is applicable to His dis- 
ciples only. When Phillip said to Him, “ Lord, show 
us the Father, and it sufficeth us,” Christ’s answer 
was, “ He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” 
Christ was therefore in His own Personality the Re- 
velation of the Father; and while it may be true that 


21 1 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 

all men are not now children of God, in the Scriptural 
sense, it is certainly true that all men are potentially 
children of God, or may become children, just as the 
Apostle John affirms when he says, “ He came to His 
own, and His own received Him not; but to as many 
as did receive Him, to them gave He the liberty (or 
privilege) to become children of God, even to those 
believing on His name.” Undoubtedly this divine 
Sonship came to the knowledge of the world through 
Jesus Christ, and this Sonship clearly implies the 
Fatherhood of God to those who are His children. 
Hence the Apostle Paul was right in saying to the 
Galatians that they were all children of God by faith 
in Christ Jesus, for as many as were baptised into 
Christ had put on Christ, and by so doing they be- 
came Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the 
promise. 

It will be seen here that Sonship depended upon 
faith, and this faith was expressed by being baptised 
into Christ, and this baptism was followed by the 
identification of those baptised with Abraham’s seed, 
by which identification they became also heirs ac- 
cording to the promise. All this strongly confirms the 
position taken in this volume, viz., that faith in 
Christ, followed by its legitimate activities, identifies 
us with Christ, and through Him we receive life from 
the Father and adoption into His family. 

Without taking any special side in the controversy 
which has raged around the phrase — “ Universal 
Fatherhood of God ” — it may be well to notice a very 
false application of an important passage of Scrip- 
ture. The parable of the prodigal son is a standing 
proof text with those who favour the Universal 
Fatherhood, without regard to what seem to be the 
Scriptural conditions upon which this Fatherhood is 


212 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

declared. The argument is that, in the parable of the 
Prodigal Son, the father represents our Heavenly 
Father, and the Prodigal Son represents the sinner 
who has wandered away from His Father’s house. 
It is declared by those who hold this view that the 
prodigal is still a son, notwithstanding his loss of 
character, and that the father is still a father, not- 
withstanding the fact that his son has long been sepa- 
rated from Him. 

This all looks very plausible to the superficial 
thinker, but it is probably based upon an entirely 
false exegesis. Analogical reasoning is often illegiti- 
mately used by even well-informed exegetes. Arch- 
bishop Whately defines analogy as an “ equality of 
ratios.” With this definition before us we can easily 
understand how the parables of Christ are frequently 
misinterpreted. Let me illustrate what is meant by 
this equality of ratios. We call the upright pieces 
to a chair its legs. Now these have no similarity to 
my legs except in one particular. But that is the 
very reason why they are called legs. Let us see how 
this works out with respect to the parables. For in- 
stance, let us look at the parable of the mustard 
seed. Now this ha,s been taken to mean nearly every- 
thing by making its different parts have a special 
meaning, while really there is only one point in the 
analogy, and that is the matter of growth. The same 
is true with respect to the parable of the yeast and 
meal. It simply teaches the doctrine of expansion 
or progression. 

The parable of the prodigal son, as it has been 
called, is intended to exemplify mercy as an element 
of the gospel, and the elder brother’s case is an illus- 
tration of justice without mercy. One represents 
the Gospel and the other the law. The notion that 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


213 

the elder brother stands for the Jewish people is 
absurd from the fact that he claims to have been 
loyal to his father and the father does not dispute 
it. He was simply pleading for justice, and his case 
represents the law, which had in it no mercy at all. 
The case of the prodigal introduces the element of 
mercy, and his case is made prominent because mercy 
is the main thing Christ is seeking to enforce. The 
elder brother was jealous, for justice is always jeal- 
ous. When we are pleading for justice, according 
to law, most of us become Shylocks. We want every 
pound of flesh. But mercy thinks most about the one 
sheep that is lost, rather than the ninety and nine 
that are safe at home ; or the one piece of silver that 
is lost rather than the nine that we have securely 
in our hands. The prodigal son represents more joy 
in heaven over one sinner that repents than over 
ninety and nine just persons that need no repentance. 

This is what the elder brother could not understand. 
The father, however, had the right view of the mat- 
ter. The elder brother was at home safe, just as the 
ninety and nine sheep were, and just as the nine 
pieces of silver were. But Jesus Christ came to seek 
and to save the lost, and his heart was thrilled with 
the joy which came from the finding of these lost 
ones; and He tells us that all Heaven is filled with 
joy over a sinner that repenteth. 

It is highly probable that the father in this parable 
does not represent God at all, any more than the man 
who had lost his sheep, or the woman who had lost 
the silver. It is purely incidental that there were a 
father and two sons in this case. The aim of the 
Master is simply to illustrate a principle, and that prin- 
ciple is, that love is overflowing in its character, 
while justice simply demands what is right in the case. 


214 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

Doubtless there is right in the Gospel, but there is 
also a great deal more than right in it. In short, it 
unites justice and mercy in the word love; and that 
is really the meaning of the whole parable. 

To draw the conclusion that there is an analogy 
in all the parts of this parable is just like saying there 
is an analogy in the chair with respect to all its parts 
— and the human frame. But simply because the 
terms “ father ” and u sons ” are introduced into the 
parable under consideration, an entirely illegitimate 
conclusion has been drawn from this fact, when the 
relation between father and son is only used to illus- 
trate the principle of mercy as contradistinguished 
from the principle of justice. The analogy does not 
extend any further, and consequently it is wholly 
irrelevant to reckon that the father in this case repre- 
sents God, while the prodigal represents His erring 
son. In fact, if this were so, it would be impossible 
to understand what position the elder brother oc- 
cupies. Must we conclude that a part of the human 
race has never sinned, and therefore they have been 
at home with the Father all the time, while another 
part has gone off into swine fields and have become 
unworthy to be called God’s children. This reason- 
ing does not go on all fours, and should therefore be 
rejected in toto . 

In rescuing this passage from an illegitimate use, 
I am not now attempting to vindicate that limited 
fatherhood which is held by many to be the clear 
teaching of Scripture. I have already said that there 
need be no discussion about this matter; for if men 
are not children of God now in any sense, they cer- 
tainly may become children, if they will use the means 
by which sonship is attained. 

Of course much depends upon the point of view 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 215 

from which the Scriptures are considered as to what 
the Scriptures really teach with regard to this matter, 
as well as with regard to all other things. Undoubt- 
edly the family idea with respect to Christians is, in 
the New Testament, one which most predominates. 
From this point of view, God is our Father and we 
are His children; Jesus Christ is our Elder Brother, 
with whom we are joint heirs to an everlasting inherit- 
ance, “ if so be that we suffer with him that we may 
be also glorified together.” 

From this point of view we see clearly how import- 
ant it is for men to be born again, or born from above, 
just as Jesus declared must be in every case in order 
to see the kingdom of God; and this fact is very 
significant with regard to the revelation which Christ 
makes of the Father. Does it not suggest the im- 
possibility of any one seeing even the kingdom of 
God, to say nothing of seeing God Himself, unless 
there is first of all a birth from above? The revela- 
tion of God’s fatherhood through even Jesus Christ, 
cannot be made distinctly visible to the unregenerate 
man ; and here again we meet the fact which has al- 
ready been stated with emphasis that the heart must 
be reached before it is possible to bring the whole man 
into harmonious relation with the fatherhood of God. 
The world by wisdom never knew God, and it never 
can know Him, and yet to know Him and Jesus 
Christ, whom He hath sent, is life eternal. Intel- 
lectual perception can never bring a vision of God 
such as is needed by perishing souls. Jesus said, 
“ Blessed are the pure in heart ; for they shall see 
God.” Before God can be discerned as a father, 
the heart must be made pure, and this purification 
can take place only through the exercise of faith in 
Christ. It is well known that Biblical exegetes inter- 


21 6 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


pret the beatitude, just quoted, so as to make it refer 
exclusively to the future life, when our eyes will no 
longer be holden. But undoubtedly Jesus is not con- 
sidering the future life at all, though probably the 
beatitude reaches into the future. Nevertheless, Jesus 
certainly intended His language to have a present 
application. He meant that the pure in heart shall 
see God now , as sonship and fatherhood clearly im- 
ply. But He must be seen with the eyes of the heart 
rather than the eyes of the head. The relation of 
Father and Son is a very sacred, affectionate relation- 
ship, and this makes it necessary that the heart shall 
be involved in forming this relationhip, and main- 
taining it throughout the Christian life. If profess- 
ing Christians do not see Him, it is because they al- 
low the God of this world to come between them 
and the beatific vision which may be theirs, if they 
have really been born from above. But they cannot 
see even the kingdom of God, unless they have ex- 
perienced such a birth as enables them to be truly 
God’s children. Surely all this emphasises the great 
importance of bringing men into normal relations 
with God through Christ, and thereby securing that 
correspondence with their environment which is nec- 
essary, both to the life which now is, and that which 
is to come. 

(4). Christ came to redeem us from the curse of 
the law. This is a great matter. Just here is where 
many theologians have gone astray. Some way or 
other they are not willing to give up the old dispen- 
sation. Their thinking is practically Judaism. At 
best their theology is simply an extension of Judaism 
with a few additions and subtractions. Nothing per- 
haps more distinctly marked the Christianity of the 
nineteenth century, in its historical development, than 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 217 

its reverence for the law and its failure to preach 
the whole Gospel. 

Let no one misunderstand me at this point. The 
law had a great mission, but it did its work and then 
passed away. Christianity is a new institution; not 
that it contains nothing that was found in the old in- 
stitution. The vegetable kingdom is new when com- 
pared with the mineral kingdom, and yet the former 
takes up something from the latter; the animal king- 
dom is new when compared with the vegetable, and 
yet the animal feeds on the vegetable. Without the 
Jewish dispensation, the Christian, perhaps, would 
have been impossible. Nevertheless, they represent 
respectively very different ideas as regards both God 
and man. With respect to this matter, there is a 
luminous passage in Jeremiah xxxi :3i-34. 

“ Behold the day has come, saith the Lord, that I 
will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, 
and with the house of Judah: 

“ Not according to the covenant that I made with 
their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand 
to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my 
covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto 
them, saith the Lord. 

“ But this is the covenant that I will make with the 
house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord ; I 
will put my law in their inward parts, and in their 
heart will I write it ; and will be their God, and they 
shall be my people. 

“ And they shall teach no more every man his neigh- 
bour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the 
Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of 
them unto the greatest of them saith the Lord: for 
I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I 
remember no more.” 


2iS SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

This passage clearly indicates at least three things : 

(1) A new covenant was to take the place of the 
old, and was not to be according to the old. 

(2) This new covenant would have to do with 
the heart rather than the head. 

(3) In this new covenant men would come to the 
knowledge of God through the forgiveness of their 
sins. 

This is a great program. The old covenant was 
useful for its day, but the time had come when it 
could no longer be useful. Just here we have the 
key which solves many perplexing problems with 
respect to the Old and New Testaments, or as they 
are more properly named, the Old and New Cove- 
nants. Some modern critics have found fault with 
the Old Testament because it gives a wrong concep- 
tion of God, and they charge this wrong conception 
to the writers of the Old Testament history; and 
then again they apologise for these writers on the 
ground that they were influenced by their environ- 
ment to make representations of the divine govern- 
ment which were actually false. Now all this view 
of the matter is quite unnecessary if we accept at once 
the fact that the Bible is a gradual unfolding of truth, 
both as regards God and man; but like the unfold- 
ing of nature, we come to distinct “ breaks ” where 
we meet a new force and enter upon a new develop- 
ment. The revelation we have of God in the Old 
Testament is just what was suitable for the ages to 
which the Old Testament belongs. The law itself was 
all right as a pedagogue to bring us to Christ, but 
since Christ has come, we are no longer under the 
pedagogue, but under Christ Himself. 

It is also well to notice that the New Covenant 
was not to be simply an objective law written on 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


219 


tables of stone, but written in the inward parts on 
the hearts of men. This is a very important distinc- 
tion. Even the decalogue, in most of its provisions 
has little to do with the heart. The two command- 
ments, on which Jesus says, hang all the law and 
the prophets, are probably universal in their reach, 
and therefore belong- to every age and every race, 
but most of even the decalogue was intended ex- 
clusively for Israel and had nothing specifically to 
do with other nations. 

In the New Covenant the knowledge of God is 
something more than an objective knowledge. It is 
really an experimental knowledge, coming from the 
consciousness of sins forgiveness. In Galatians, 
Chapter iii:io, the Apostle says: “For as many 
as are of the works of the law are under the curse 
— for it is written, cursed is every one that continueth 
not in all things which are written in the book of the 
law to do them.” Now as no one can be justified 
by the deeds of the law, it became obsolutely neces- 
sary that a new dispensation should come or else no 
one could be saved; for, to fail in one point of the 
law was to fail in all, consequently to live by the 
deeds of the law required a complete obedience to all 
that the law commanded. But Christ came and “ re- 
deemed us out of the curse af the law, having become 
in our behalf a curse, for it is written, cursed is. every 
one that hangeth upon a tree ” ; and all this was done 
in order that unto the nations the blessing of Abra- 
ham might come about through Jesus Christ; and, 
furthermore, that the promise of the spirit might be 
received through means of the faith. 

This is a great matter. We are not under Moses 
but under Christ; we are not subject to the law, but 
are, after all, subject to law . In Romans iii, the 


220 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


Apostle asks : “ Do we then make law void through 
means of the faith? Certainly not. On the contrary, 
we establish law.” Notice carefully that the definite 
article is absent before law while it is present before 
faith. This is true of the original, as well as of the 
translation which is here given; and the significance 
of this cannot be well over-estimated. The Apostle’s 
argument is that the law of Moses is no longer of 
binding force upon Christians, or upon those who 
exercise faith in Christ Jesus, who is the end of that 
law for righteousness to all who believe ; but this fact 
does not guarantee to Christians the right to be law- 
less. They are still under law generically con- 
sidered, but not under the law specifically considered. 
Having been delivered from the curse of the law, 
which must be upon every one who attempts to keep 
it, since no one can keep it perfectly, Christians are 
now under “ the law of the spirit of life in Christ 
Jesus,” or “the perfect law of liberty,” as the Apostle 
James calls it. 

Christ’s dealings with the law, or the middle wall 
of partition between Jew and Gentile, by nailing it 
to the cross, was one of his great acts by which he 
delivered from the bondage in which men were 
placed before His coming. Nevertheless, it is prob- 
ably true that very many professing Christians still 
contend with more earnestness for the dominion of 
the law than they do for the grace of the Gospel. 
With many the thunders of Mount Sinai inspire a 
much greater reverence than does the Gospel mes- 
sage from Pentecost. But a right conception of this 
whole matter is very important in order that we may 
not all our lifetime be subject to bondage, through 
the fear of death, as evidently must be the case with 
those who follow Moses rather than Christ. 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


221 


It would require too much space to indicate the 
numerous things which the law could not do, and 
why it was therefore inadequate to deal with the 
problem of human salvation. It is sufficient simply 
to state this matter in the language of the Apostle 
to the Romans. He says: “What the law could not 
do in that it was weak through the flesh, God send- 
ing His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and 
for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. ,, The law was 
weak with respect to many things, but this weakness 
was not because of some defect in the law itself, but 
on account of the weakness of the flesh, it was unable 
to meet the whole case. We have already seen that 
the law required a perfect obedience ; was, indeed, en- 
tirely without mercy, and consequently the salvation 
of men was hopeless because no one could render 
a perfect obedience with respect to everything. No 
wonder it is said “The law was given by Moses, 
but grace and 'truth came by Jesus Christ.” Jesus 
Christ brought with Him a distinctly new note with 
respect to the government of God. We have already 
seen that He gave us a new revelation of God Him- 
self, not that the former revelation was not true, as 
far as it went, but the fatherhood of God introduces 
the element of grace, and this is one of the character- 
istic features of the mission of Christ to the world. 
The old law could not give righteousness and life. 
The Apostle says : “ If righteousness come by the 

law, then Christ is dead in vain ; ” and further he 
says: “If there had been a law given which could 
have given life, verily righteousness would have been 
by the law.” But the law was really “the ministra- 
tion of condemnation ” ; “ the ministration of 

death.” What the world needed was a ministration 
of life through the forgiveness of sins, and this at 


222 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


once stamps the mission of Christ with a new con- 
tent, and practically marks the division line between 
the old dispensation and the new. Indeed, without 
recognising the division line between dispensations, 
it is difficult to understand the whole teaching of the 
Bible; but when a proper distinction is made between 
the dispensations, it is not difficult to interpret the 
meaning of many things that would otherwise be 
unintelligible and sometimes apparently contradictory. 

It is well just here to correct a widespread mis- 
apprehension as regards the law. This misappre- 
hension is that the law of Moses should be divided 
into ceremonial, civil and moral, and then we are 
justified in claiming that the ceremonial and civil 
have passed away, but the moral remains. Now there 
is no justification in Scripture for any such device 
as that which divides up the law into these parts. 
There are things in the law from beginning to end 
which are perennial in their character, and these are 
still retained for the guidance of the Christian life; 
but in all cases these have been incorporated in the 
teaching of Christ and His Apostles. The sermon on 
the mount distinctly announces a forward step with 
regard to the teaching of the law. Jesus says in effect 
it was said of old, thou shalt do this or that, or thou 
shalt not do this or that, but I say unto thee thou 
shalt do differently. Sometimes this doing differently 
is but an expansion of the law itself, a higher reach 
into the moral region of life. 

But someone may ask, Did not Christ come to es- 
tablish the law? Does He not say so Himself? Un- 
doubtedly. Not one jot or one tittle of the law could 
pass away until all was fulfilled. But He fulfilled 
the law. He met all its conditions, and consequently 
when His administration was fully inaugurated the 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


223 

Mosaic code, as a distinct code, passed away. This 
is a very great fact, and a misapprehension with re- 
gard to it is one of the fundamental errors of modern 
Christendom. Let it again be emphatically affirmed 
that we are not under Moses, but under Christ. 

In concluding this brief notice of the relation of 
the law and Gospel, it is important to emphasise what 
has already been stated, viz : Christians must not 
conclude because they are not under the law of Moses 
that therefore they are not under law at all. They 
are exhorted to “bear one another’s burdens and so 
fulfill the law of Christ.” Here we have the key 
to the whole matter. The Christian is under law, 
but it is “ the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus ” 
which has made him “ free from the law of sin and 
death.” The highest reach of this law of Christ is 
love, and this love is measured by His love for us. 
He says “ Love one another as I have loved you.” 
This is what he calls the new commandment in con- 
tra-distinction from the old. The old command- 
ment was the letter, and kills. The new command- 
ment is the spirit, and giveth life. The old 
commandment was selfishness, the new commandment 
is love. The old commandment made self the stand- 
ard; men were to do unto others as they would 
have others do to them. They were to love their 
neighbours as themselves. The new commandment 
makes Christ the measure of our love for one another ; 
for we must love one another just as He loved us. 
There is certainly the width of the poles between 
these two things. The Jew was under one, the 
Christian is under the other. 

(5). Christ came to destroy the works of the 
Devil In 1 John iii:8, it is clearly declared that 
“ the Son of God was made manifest to the end that 


224 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

he might destroy (or undo) the works of the Devil.” 
In other Scriptures the same thought is clearly im- 
plied, even where the language is not so precise as 
that used by the Apostle John. We have already 
seen that there is a personal Devil ( Ho Diabolos). 
and John declares, in the connection from which we 
have quoted, that this Devil has been committing sin 
from the very “ beginning.” This language is cer- 
tainly quite suggestive, especially in view of the 
position which has been assumed in this volume with 
respect to the overthrow of the physical earth prior 
to the six days of the reorganisation. The reader 
will remember that, in preceding chapters, it was 
suggested that this overthrow was through the agency 
of Satan, and that possibly the destructive influences 
still at work in Nature have their origin in precisely 
the same source. But whether this is true or not, it 
is certainly true that the Adversary is still at work 
seeking the overthrow of man from a religious point 
of view. The language of the Apostle is very lumi- 
nous. He says : “ He that is committing sin is of 

the Devil, because from the beginning the Devil has 
been sinning.” He then follows this with the state- 
ment, already quoted, that the Son of God is now 
manifest in order that he may destroy the works of 
the Devil. 

Let the reader notice the word “beginning” in 
the first verse of the first chapter of Genesis, and also 
in the first verse of the first chapter of the Gospel 
of John. This “ beginning ” was when God created 
the Heaven and the earth, — and consequently from 
that time the Devil has been sinning; and perhaps 
the first great sin committed by him was the disor- 
der which he produced in the earth, over which prob- 
ably he may have had special dominion at that time ; 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 225 

and, indeed, the earth may have been the place of his 
habitation and also that of his angels. 

Of course, this position may be regarded as some- 
what speculative ; but after all, there is much in 
Scripture to support the conclusion reached. In the 
beginning God created the Heavens and the earth, 
and from this “ beginning ” the Devil has been sin- 
ning. Surely when these facts are placed side by 
side, there is good reason to believe that the over- 
throw, which probably took place, was produced by 
Satan and his angels; and for this reason they have 
been punished without the possibility of remedy, since 
there was really no excuse for the rebellion in which 
they were engaged. 

Since the preceding chapters of this volume were 
finished, I have had a look into a book recently pub- 
lished by the Fleming H. Revell Co., entitled 44 All 
About the Bible,” which strikingly confirms the posi- 
tion which I have advanced with respect to the earth 
and Satan. While not endorsing everything that is 
said in the liberal extract which follows, there is cer- 
tainly much in it which is worth while to seriously 
consider : 

“ As to how and why this earth, once so beautiful, 
ever became * waste ’ and 4 void/ we cannot speak 
with certainty. It is, however, a striking fact that 
there are only two other places in the Bible where 
the words translated in Gen. 1 : 2 4 without form ’ and 
4 void ’ occur together — viz : Isa. xxxiv. 2, translated 
4 confusion ’ and 4 emptiness/ and Jer. iv, xxiii. In 
both these cases the expressions are used in connec- 
tion with destruction caused by God’s judgment on 
account of sin. 

44 Although, as I have said, it is impossible to speak 
with absolute certainty, there are, nevertheless, in- 


226 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

dications in Scripture that lead us to suppose that 
our earth was once the abode of Satan and his angels 
in their unfallen condition. 

“ Probably also he and they had bodies of some 
kind, as the following references seem to indicate, 
and part at least of their judgment may have been 
that they were disembodied — just as death, which is 
after all but a disembodiment of the spirit, was part 
of the judgment that fell upon man for his sin. If 
this be so, may it not account for the fact that these 
demons (as the word should be translated, not Devils, 
for there is only one Devil) have ever since been 
seeking to find human bodies in which to dwell, as 
witness the demon possessions in the days of Christ, 
and that which looks very like the same thing in our 
lunatic asylums to-day. While those violent out- 
breaks of passion to which men and women at times 
give way, and with such appalling results, may pos- 
sibly also be traceable to the same cause. 

“ In any case, Satan is still called “ the god of this 
world” (2 Cor. iv. 4), “the prince of this world” 
(John xii. 31; xiv. 30; xvi. 11), “the prince of the 
power of the air” (Eph. ii. 2), etc.; and when he 
laid claim to the kingdoms of this world, Christ did 
not dispute his claim (Luke iv. 5-8). That myster- 
ious prophecy, moreover, in Ezek. xxviii. 12-19, ma y 
and probably does, furnish us with a faint glimpse 
of Satan under the title of the “ King of Tyrus ” 
(ver. 12), “the anointed cherub” (ver. 4), etc., first 
in his pristine glory, when, in earth’s earliest ages, 
he was set upon “ the holy mountain of God,” “ walk- 
ing up and down in the midst of the stones of fire ” 
(ver. 14), “full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” 
(ver. 12), words which could scarcely be applied to 
any man; and then afterwards in his “ iniquity ” (ver. 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


227 

15), “ slander ” (as the word rendered “merchan- 
dise ” might be translated) reminding us of the “ ac- 
cuser of our brethren/’ (Rev. xii. 10), and in his 
pride (ver. 17), until he was “cast out” (ver. 16) — 
a very striking expression, and one frequently used 
in connection with evil spirits in the days of Christ 
— his angels evidently partaking in his iniquity and 
pride, and sharing his doom (Matt. xxv. 41). “How 
art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the 
morning!” (Isa. xiv. 12) 

“ If this be the true meaning of this mysterious 
passage, how significant is the message of God to 
that once exalted, but now fallen, spirit : “ Thou wast 
perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast 
created, till iniquity was found in thee” (ver. 15), 
and “ thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty ; 
thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy 
brightness” (ver. 17). 

“ It must be admitted that if there is one sin more 
than another that God has singled out as being pecu- 
liarly detestable in His sight, it is this sin of pride. 
“ Pride, arrogancy, and the evil way. . . . Do I 
hate” (Prov. viii. 13). Moreover, many of the pas- 
sages dealing with pride seem, in view of the fore- 
going, to have a peculiar and designed reference to 
that being in whose mysterious nature pride was first 
conceived. Indeed, in I Tim. iii. 6, pride is speci- 
fically called “the condemnation of the devil.” And 
the solemn warning given in Prov. xvi. 18, “ Pride 
goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit be- 
fore a fall,” and so needed by us in this life, may 
have had its first application to, as it certainly found 
its first fulfillment in, him whose “heart was lifted 
up because of his beauty.” 

“ May we not, therefore, see here sufficient cause 


228 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

to account not only for the downfall of Satan and 
his angels, but also for that wider and more terrible 
destruction which evidently overtook this once fair 
earth in pre- Adamic times? — just as in the days of 
Noah “ the world that then was, being overflowed 
with water, perished” (2 Pet. iii. 6), as a result of 
man’s wickedness (Gen. vi. 5-7) — which wickedness 
in its final culmination, in the future, will bring about 
a yet more awful destruction still, when “ the ele- 
ments shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and 
the works that are therein shall be burnt up ” (2 Pet. 
iii. 10). 

“ In this connection it is somewhat remarkable that 
Ignatius Donnelly, in his “ Age of Fire and Gravel,” 
asserts that there are distinct geological evidences 
that our earth once passed through the tail of a 
gigantic comet in prehistoric times, enveloping it in 
a shower of fire and stones, which, he believes, ulti- 
mately brought the earth into the condition described 
in Gen. i. 2, viz., “ without form and void.” If this 
be so, is it not possible that there may be some con- 
nection between this shower of fire and stones and 
the stones of fire — a most mysterious expression — re- 
ferred to in Ezek. xxviii, 14? 

“ The pre-Adamic destruction of the earth and 
heavenly bodies seems to be graphically described in 
the vivid language of Job ix. 4-7, as the inspired 
writer contemplates with awe the scene of wreck and 
ruin, once the beautiful abode of him who in madness 
and folly dared to harden himself against God. “ He 
is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath 
hardened himself against Him and hath prospered? 
Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: 
which overturneth them in His anger. Which 
shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


229 

thereof tremble. Which commandeth the sun, and 
it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.” 

After so awful a catastrophe as is here related, 
could any words more accurately describe the condi- 
tion of things which must have prevailed than those 
of Gen. i, 2, which tell us that “ the earth had become 
without form and void, and darkness was upon the 
face of the deep ? ” * 

Now the point to be noticed carefully is the im- 
portant fact that if the theory I have suggested, and 
which is so strikingly confirmed by the extract just 
quoted, is accepted, then all the difficulties which have 
been supposed to exist between Genesis and Geology 
are at once practically annihilated. If the order of 
the earth was overthrown by Satan, and if the “waste 
and wild ” condition of the earth, as indicated in 
Genesis i, 2, resulted from that overthrow, then it 
is easy to see how all the Geological formations, 
which are now marked features of the earth, could 
have been produced prior to, or while the earth was 
in the state of darkness and confusion which is so 
vividly described in the second verse of the first chap- 
ter of Genesis. A long period may have reigned 
before the first fiat was spoken by the Creator when 
he said : “ Let there be light.” 

As indicated in another place the account of the 
Creation in Genesis does not necesssarily require that 
the days there spoken of should represent the diurnal 
rotation of the earth on its axis; nevertheless, it is 
possible that these days may have been days of 24 
hours each and still the geological formations might 
have taken place through the creative and chaotic 
periods which preceded the period of reorganisation, 
which began when the word “ day ” is introduced. 

* Pages 251-255. 


230 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

In any case it is certainly worth while to notice 
that the more we understand the Bible and nature, 
the more we must be convinced that there is no an- 
tagonism between these. Whatever antagonism seems 
to appear is doubtless owing to our superficial knowl- 
edge of either the Bible, or nature, or both. 

But however this may be, it is impossible to ex- 
plain the facts of human history without admitting 
into that history a great personal agent which in 
the Bible is called Ho Satanos. Nevertheless a- 
stumbling block has been suggested in the way of this 
admission because an all-powerful God has not dis- 
posed of this evil agency long before the present time. 
But this is a very superficial view of the matter. It 
is assumed that God could destroy the devil, as He 
has the power to do so, and consequently the question 
asked by a recent infidel writer has been regarded by 
some as very pertinent. That question is, “ Why does 
not God kill the devil?” Now if I should answer 
that question by saying that God has not the power 
to do this, possibly some surface thinker would re- 
gard me as insane. But, notwithstanding, what may 
be said of me, I do unhesitatingly declare that God 
cannot kill the devil. God cannot violate His own 
laws. He has constructed the universe on certain 
principles, and He cannot therefore destroy these prin- 
ciples in order to meet some special case which may 
arise in the working out of the divine plan. God may 
destroy the works of the devil, and that is just what 
is being done through the mission of Christ in the 
world. But even in this case, these works cannot be 
destroyed except in harmony with the laws of God, and 
these laws make it necessary that time, patience and 
conflict shall enter into the problem of overcoming 
The whole scheme of redemption is involved 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


231 


in this great struggle; the conflict between head and 
heart is also involved in it; but a struggle like this 
cannot be decided in a day. It has already been 
prominent in human history for at least 6000 years. 
It may take 6000 years more to bring the final vic- 
tory over evil; but that victory will come, for Jesus 
Christ came to destroy the works of the devil, and 
these works will finally be destroyed. We already see 
evidences of the coming overthrow that must cer- 
tainly take place. When Jesus was here on earth, 
performing His mighty works, the whole of satanic 
power was manifested in a remarkable degree. The 
demon world became intensely active, and this has 
always been the case with the agencies of Satan. 
When the influence of good is emphasised in any com- 
munity, extreme activity on the part of the influences 
of evil is sure to follow. The personal agency of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, while He was here in the flesh, 
brought into active exercise the whole demon world 
through satanic agency, and this fact will account for 
the remarkable manifestations of the works of the 
devil during Christ’s ministry on earth. 

At present the work of saving the world is not 
through miraculous manifestations. The day of mira- 
cles has passed; but faith, hope and love still abide. 
It is through these quiet elements of power that the 
destruction of the works of the devil must be accom- 
plished. This is the divine method, and this does not 
contravene any of the laws of God, but is in perfect 
harmony with all of them. Slowly but surely progress 
is made. The heart is gradually taking its proper 
place, though it has required centuries to teach the 
world the important lesson involved in this statement. 
It may be necessary to wait patiently for many years 
to come before the final victory shall be achieved. 


232 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

But, while the agencies of Satan are at present very 
active in their opposition to the triumph of Christ, 
still it must be evident to all careful observers of 
passing events that the works of the devil are gradu- 
ally being demolished. Temperance is gaining ground 
on nearly every battlefield; foreign missions are in- 
vading all the strongholds of paganism; while the 
churches at home are rapidly becoming more aggres- 
sive under the influence of an evangelistic spirit 
which has scarcely been equalled since the days of 
the Apostles. Surely these indications cannot be ig- 
nored in estimating the probable results of the con- 
flict between good and evil. 

(6). Christ came as a witness to the truth. When 
questioned by Pilate as to whether he was a king or 
not, Jesus answered by saying “To this end have I 
been born, and to this end am I come into the world 
that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone 
that is of the truth heareth my voice.” — John xviii, 37. 
The world has always regarded truth from the intel- 
lectual point of view. It has been measured by the 
head, and when Pilate asked “ what is truth ? ” he 
evidently had in view the popular standard. But 
Christ gave us a new measure. Truth with Him had 
a personal relationship. Hence He said, “ everyone 
that is of the truth heareth my voice,” which was 
only another way of saying “ I am the way, the truth, 
and the life,” and consequently whoever is of me or 
whoever is my sheep, he will hear my voice. Truth 
with Christ was measured below the head. It was 
a heart matter. It is true that the new version gives 
us a better idea of what the heart is when it tells us 
that it has eyes. It is no longer “ the eyes of the 
understanding,” but “ the eyes of the heart.” This is 
practically a new revelation, and yet it is precisely 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 233 

the revelation which the world needs. “ The pure in 
heart shall see God.” In other words, the perceiving 
faculty for God, or the good, is the heart and not the 
head , and therefore to determine what is truth, or to 
bear witness to the truth, the test must be made from 
the religious point of view, or from the heart rather 
than from the head. The world by wisdom can never 
know God. 

Christ’s witness to the truth changes the whole 
attitude of the inquirer as to what truth is, and at 
once lifts the heart into regnancy where it properly 
belongs. When man’s whole nature is harmonised, as 
the Creator intended it to be; when this view of the 
matter shall prevail generally, our public schools, 
colleges and universities will occupy a very different 
position from what they now do. At present they are 
chiefly concerned with man’s intellectual development, 
and the measure by which truth is determined, in 
nearly all our educational institutions, is from purely 
an intellectual point of view; and while this is the 
case, it must be conceded that these institutions are 
only partially, at best, fulfilling their true mission. 
While the Bible is ruled out of our public schools, 
and is very generally treated with indifference, if not 
with contempt, by many of our colleges and univer- 
sities, it is certain that the question of what is truth 
cannot be determined, or will not be determined in 
harmony with Christ’s testimony. 

My protest here must not be understood in the 
sense of opposition to our educational institutions. 
All I am claiming is that they ought to stand for 
very much more than they do. The prominence 
given to intellectual development, at the expense often 
of heart culture, is precisely in line with the abnormal 
development of the race from Adam down to the 


234 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

present time. Christ came to inaugurate a new sys- 
tem of education, but it is to be feared that most 
of our educators practically ignore His teaching on 
this subject. Indeed, this is so much the case that it 
may be questioned whether, upon the whole, our 
colleges and universities are really helpful factors 
in developing a true civilisation. Doubtless they do 
much for man's intellectual nature, but this, without 
a corresponding heart culture, may be a positive dis- 
advantage to the best interests of the race ; and, con- 
sequently, unless the heart , or to put it in different 
phraseology, unless religion becomes a dominant fac- 
tor in our educational institutions, it is certain that 
they will not help in making society what it ought to 
be. We must use Christ’s measure of the truth, and 
that measure is Himself. To be in Christ, to be what 
He is in character, to enter into fellowship with Him, 
to breathe the spiritual atmosphere which contact 
with Him imparts; in short to be born from above, 
thereby to possess a new spiritual endowment by which 
the soul sees the kingdom of God and enters into it 
at once, — All this brings man’s whole nature into 
harmony, and thereby destroys the present antagonism 
between head and heart, between the mere intellectual 
conception of the truth and the truth itself, and gives 
us the concrete personal truth of Christ dwelling in 
us, the hope of glory. 

It is admitted that since Christ came much has 
been accomplished in the right direction; but un- 
doubtedly we are still ruled by the head and by the 
flesh. The animal nature is still very much in evi- 
dence, though slowly but surely the Christ ideal is 
gaining; but much yet remains to be accomplished 
before this ideal can be fully realised. We need a 
radical change in our educational systems before we 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


235 

can be sure that these systems may be helpful in bring- 
ing about the state of society which Christ came to 
establish. 

It may help us just here to indicate briefly some 
characteristics of that society. First of all his ideal 
was a new family. The old family idea was used by 
him simply as a means by which to illustrate the new. 
The relations of father and mother, husband and wife, 
etc., were important, and the sanctity of these rela- 
tions was constantly emphasised by Jesus in all His 
teaching. Nevertheless, they did not express in ful- 
ness His high ideal. His new family was based 
wholly on spiritual relations. On one occasion while 
He was speaking to the multitudes, His mother and 
His brethren stood without seeking to speak to Him, 
and one said unto Him, Behold thy mother and thy 
brethren stand without seeking to speak to Thee. But 
He answered and said unto him that told Him, Who 
is my mother, and who are my brethren? And He 
stretched forth His hand toward His disciples and 
said, “ Behold my mother, and my brethren ! for who- 
soever shall do the will of my Father which is in 
Heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother ! ” 
Here we have a clear indication and description of 
the new family which Christ came to establish. “ That 
which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is 
born of the spirit is spirit.” This statement is the 
key to the character of the new family. Those who 
do the will of the Father are Christ’s brother, and 
sister, and mother. It is no longer a question of mere 
animal or fleshly relationship. The new family is com- 
posed of all who do the will of God. This same mat- 
ter is emphasised by Jesus in His answer to the 
Sadducees who sought to puzzle Him by the case 
where the woman had seven husbands. They wanted to 


236 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

know whose wife she would be in the resurrection, 
But Jesus confounded them by telling them that “ In 
the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in 
marriage, but are as the angels of God.” Indeed, 
nothing could be clearer than the teaching of Christ 
that the family which He recognises and which He 
came to establish is spiritual, and this harmonises 
exactly with the teaching of the Apostle where it is 
declared that the church is “ A spiritual house, a holy 
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable 
to God through Jesus Christ.” 

Now my contention is that only such a family can 
perceive and know the truth. Men must have spiritual’ 
eyes in order that they may have a true vision of 
spiritual things, and the truth which Jesus puts above 
all mere intellectual conceptions is that truth in the 
light of which souls may see God, and consequently 
it is forever true that men must be “ pure in heart ” 
before they can have this beatific vision. 

It is well to notice the fact that this new family 
idea became so prominent in the early history of the 
Church that it may be regarded as a distinguishing 
characteristic of that Church for hundreds of years 
after it was founded. Of course the seeds of this 
widespread conviction, that the Church was prac- 
tically everything, are found in the writings of the 
Apostles. The universality of Jesus practically cov- 
ered the whole ground of this early contention. Eu- 
sebius, in the first book of his church history, recog- 
nises the national character of this feeling which at 
first was simply a family feeling. He says that 
“ When the appearance of Jesus Christ broke upon 
all men, there appeared a new nation , admitted neither 
small nor weak, nor dwelling in any corner of the 
earth, but the most numerous and pious of all na- 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


237 

tions.” This idea prevailed not only in the primitive 
days of the church, but it became an all-pervading 
idea among Christians during the period of the Ro- 
man empire after Constantine ascended the throne. 
Hermas refers to the combining power of the Chris- 
tian polity by which a mental and moral unity of 
varied capacities was produced. He likens this unity 
to stones built into a tower, but upon being built they 
all acquire the same white colour. So he regards 
the members of the Church. Coming from all 
nationalities and all conditions of men, they blend in 
one harmony in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

This new nation (for it had become a national idea 
at the time of Hermas) was marked by several things 
which distinguished it from all other peoples. First 
its monotheistic view of the world. Second, its strict 
morality. Third, its comprehension under a supreme 
ethical code the whole of human life, private, social 
and political. We have only to consult such writers 
as Tatian, Theophilus, Clement, Tertullian, and Ju- 
lius Africanus, with others, to find abundant proof 
that this was the view, entertained by the early Chris- 
tians, with respect to their position in the world. 
These Christians regarded themselves as in the world, 
but not of the world. Indeed, they really did not 
recognise themselves as being under earthly rulers 
at all, though they very generally fought for these 
rulers in their own fashion when called upon to do so. 
Origen declares, “ We fight for the king even better 
than others do. For although we do not fight under 
him, even if he requires us to, we fight on his behalf, 
forming a special army of piety, by means of the 
prayers we offer to God.” 

Doubtless this prevailing conception of the early 
Christians was frequently carried too far; and yet 


238 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

we are bound to concede that there was foundation 
for it all in the very character of the Church which 
Christ founded, and which was developed into a great 
family during the ministry of the Apostles. Further- 
more, there can be no doubt about the influence of 
this Church, even upon the political organisations of 
those early days. Especially was this influence great 
during the reign of Constantine when the Church and 
state became practically one. 

It is no part of my present purpose to discuss the 
nature of this alliance, or the influence of it upon 
the subsequent history of either church or state. I 
have referred to it to show that the society which 
Jesus Christ came to establish was a new society, 
whether considered from the family point of view or 
from the point of view of the state. Nevertheless, it 
ought to be stated that the early Christians contended 
that there was nothing new in this idea after all; 
that it was, in fact, an old idea, and was adumbrated 
in the promise which God made to Abraham, when 
Abraham was told that in him all the families or 
nations of the earth should be blessed. In short, the 
early Christian idea was that the Church, properly 
understood, was the all-comprehensive institution on 
earth in which all the families of the earth might be 
made practically one. Is not this the point of view 
that should be taken now ? Will not this “ hope de- 
ferred ” be finally realised when head and heart shall 
be harmonised, God and man reconciled, as certainly 
will come to pass through the reign of Jesus Christ 
our Lord? 

(7). Christ came to set us an example that we may 
know how to suffer and be strong. We have already 
seen that suffering is the result of evil in the world, 
and consequently when evil is completely overcome 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 239 

suffering will cease. But we have also seen that the 
process of destroying the works of the Devil requires 
time and patience, and in the meantime much suffer- 
ing must be endured ; for many trials and temptations 
will come to those who are seeking to do the will of 
God. We are at present in a mixed state. The con- 
flict between good and evil is still going on, though 
the mission of Christ has thrown a new light on 
the dark background of human history; and while 
the sentence which was passed upon Adam, in its 
effects, has come down in the history of the race, 
and has not been abrogated, it is, nevertheless, true 
that the coming of Jesus Christ into the world has 
made it possible for suffering to be removed in the 
course of time; and until that removal takes place 
the suffering which the Christian has to endure may 
be made a means through Jesus Christ to spiritual 
development. This is perhaps the most encouraging 
feature connected with Christ’s mission, as it is the 
one, which, more than any other, touches our every 
day experiences. 

Christ Himself was made perfect through suffer- 
ing. Not that His character had to be made perfect, 
but rather that His official relation to us should be 
brought into perfect harmony with our needs. To be 
a merciful high priest, He had to become acquainted 
with our trials in the flesh, and consequently He was 
tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. 
He entered into all of our sorrows, and even passed 
through the valley of the shadow of death in order 
that we may fear no evil, since He will be with us, 
and His rod and staff will comfort us. 

With respect to this matter there are so many 
Scriptures bearing upon it that we need not here re- 
fef to more than two or three. The Apostle in His 


240 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

letter to the Romans clearly intimates that we must 
“ suffer with Christ/’ if we wish to be “ glorified 
with Him.” This makes it perfectly clear that suffer- 
ing in the present life with Christ is essential to our 
glorification with Him in the Heavens. Notice, the 
suffering is with Christ , not a suffering away from 
Christ. This fact is most important. Men may suffer 
for their own wicked deeds, but our suffering must 
be that which comes from our association with Christ, 
if it is to be remedial in its character, so as to help 
us in our spiritual development. This harmonises 
strictly with what Jesus told His Apostles, when He 
said to them that they should be happy when they 
were persecuted and subjected to all manner of evil 
for His name's sake. Here the suffering must be for 
Christ’s name’s sake, or in association with Him; or 
to put it in the language of the Apostle Peter, “ Suffer 
as a Christian,” and then he need not be ashamed, for 
all such suffering should be a means for the develop^ 
ment of the highest possible spiritual life. Our light 
afflictions are, after all, but for a moment, compared 
with what shall be realised in the end; still as they 
are a part of our present experience they should be 
made to “ work out for us a far more exceeding 
and eternal weight of glory ; ” but this cannot be the 
case unless we “ look not at the things that are seen, 
but at the things that are unseen; for the things that 
are seen are temporal, but the things that are unseen 
are eternal.” 

While all this is true, it is equally true that suffer- 
ing is the result of evil in the world; and, conse- 
quently, when evil is completely overcome, suffering 
will cease to exist. But one purpose of Christ’s mis- 
sion is to use this suffering, while it does exist, so 
that it may help the Christian to be strong instead of 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 241 

making 1 him weak. Here again we see an illustration 
of the law that “ like cures like,” as well as that other 
law which Coleridge calls “ Sustaining opposites.” 
Christ taught us how to make suffering contribute to 
our perfection, or in other words he taught us to so 
adjust ourselves to the environment in which we are 
placed as to keep ourselves constantly in correspond- 
ence with that environment, and thereby secure to 
ourselves life instead of death. Truly may we desire, 
with the Apostle Paul, to “ know Him and the power 
of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffer- 
ings,” for by only such knowledge will we be enabled 
to make special progress in the present life, or enjoy 
to the fullest extent the life which is to come. 

O fear not in a world like this. 

And thou shalt know ere long, 

Know how sublime a thing it is 
To suffer and be strong. 

Before concluding this chapter on Christ’s mission, 
it may be well to consider the secret of His power over 
men, as this will help to illustrate the position of 
head and heart with respect to the great problem under 
consideration. It has already been shown that Christ 
Himself is the solution of the great struggle of the 
ages, and is the embodiment of that religion which 
alone can bless the world. 

Whatever may be our opinion of Christ in other 
respects we are compelled to acknowledge that He has 
exerted a wonderful influence over men. For over 
eighteen hundred years He has controlled more peo- 
ple than any other potentate that reigns or has reigned 
at any period during that time. In fact, it is not 
possible to write the history of the past, to properly 
estimate the present, or wisely anticipate the future 


242 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

without regarding the personal influence of Christ 
as the most important factor in our calculations. His 
name has become so intimately interwoven with the 
language, literature, songs, and even the very thought 
of every civilised nation, that it is simply impossible, 
even if it were desirable, to eliminate Christ from 
the history of the progressive development of the race. 
And this widespread and constantly increasing influ- 
ence is all the more remarkable when we take into 
consideration the circumstances which surrounded 
Him when He began His mission. He had nothing 
to recommend Him, such as is usually regarded as 
essential to success. Of family, inheritance, wealth, 
etc., He had none. He made Himself of no reputa- 
tion, and so poor indeed, was He that He Himself 
said, “ The foxes have holes and the birds of the air 
have nests; but the Son of Man has not where to 
lay His head.” 

Then the age was a rude one ; the people in whose 
interests He began His work were greatly degraded; 
under the influence of a foreign despot they had been 
reduced to a very low state of civilisation. Judged 
from a human standpoint everything seemed to con- 
spire against Christ’s success; and yet, no one ever 
succeeded as He has. This fact, this undeniable fact, 
calls for some consideration. We naturally ask why 
is this? And you answer, because He is divine, be- 
cause He is the Son of God. You say that His di- 
vinity assures His success. But this is really begging 
the whole question; it is taking for granted the very 
thing to be proved. His divinity is precisely what has 
always been in controversy, and unless we can find 
something in His life and character which assures 
His divinity, we cannot appeal to His divine charac- 
ter in order to account for His success. And when- 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


243 


ever we begin to look for proofs to establish His 
high claim, we will immediately come in contact with 
the real elements that account for His mighty in- 
fluence. It is the perfect correspondence between 
His claim and glorious character which has made 
His name a potent spell wherever the standard of the 
cross has been lifted up. No matter if He was the 
Son of God, if His mission had proceeded upon prin- 
ciples contrary to the laws of success, His divinity 
would never have been conceded, nor would He have 
exerted any considerable power over the people. But 
what He said and did precisely met the conditions 
necessary to establish His divine character, as well 
as to assure the great influence He has exerted in the 
world. We must look, then, to what He was, to what 
He said and did, if we wish to find the explanation of 
what He has been to the world and what He is to- 
day. Let us briefly consider some of the facts that 
help to account for His wonderful success. 

(1). His teaching was perfectly adapted to the 
wants of the people. This is true as regards both 
His matter and manner. Had He come talking to 
the people of something in which they had no interest, 
or at least felt no interest; or had He come talking 
in a way they could not understand, He would have 
failed to gain their attention; and failing in this, He 
would have failed to exert any decided influence upon 
the world. But His teaching was thoroughly in har- 
mony with the needs of the soul, hence His words 
went straight to the heart, and immediately waked up 
the slumbering hopes and energies of the race and 
started the stream of human progress towards the 
highest possible development. 

In the first place, His teaching was characterised 
by wonderful simplicity. In this respect no one ever 


244 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

spoke as Christ spoke; and in view of this it is not 
at all strange that “ the common people heard him 
gladly.” They had been accustomed to listen to the 
strange, mysterious utterances of the oracles, with 
their double meaning, or lifeless philosophical specu- 
lations concerning matters of no practical importance. 
It was, therefore, a new revelation to them to have 
someone talk to them in their own language. 

But Christ not only used great simplicity of speech, 
but He adapted His style to the respective classes He 
addressed. When He was talking to farmers, He 
spoke in the language of farmers; when talking to 
doctors, He spoke in the language of doctors; when 
talking to merchants, He spoke in the language of 
merchants. To whomsoever He addressed Himself, 
He adapted what He said and His language to their 
peculiar positions or conditions, and in this way He 
made Himself understood and brought Himself into 
sympathy with those who heard Him, always leaving 
the impress of the simple but wonderful words which 
He uttered upon those to whom they were addressed. 
Nor have His words lost any of their power since 
they were first spoken. They are still “ spirit and 
life ” to all who give them earnest attention. Though 
simple enough for a child to understand, they are 
at the same time so far-reaching in their compre- 
hensiveness that the loftiest intellect the world has 
ever seen has not been able to reach to their height, 
their length, their depth, or their breadth. 

But there is another characteristic of Christ’s teach- 
ing to which I wish to call attention. I refer to the 
evident frankness which marks everything He says. 
I think, there is one respect at least in which we are 
greatly mistaken in our dealings with one another. 
If we have to approach someone on a delicate sub- 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


245 


ject we think we must do it obliquely; we think there 
must be a sort of covering up of the real purpose, 
that we must suppress something here and there, 
until we have by stealthy tread gained a position 
where we can safely throw off the mask and speak 
without reserve. But in this we act unwisely. The 
human heart loves frankness, and especially is that 
true of those the Saviour expected to reach — the com- 
mon people. The people — the great masses of men 
— love to be talked to frankly. Hence when Jesus 
was here upon earth. He gained their attention by 
this peculiar quality of speech. He spoke to them 
frankly. He did not hide their faults; nor did He 
unduly magnify them; but said what He had to say. 
If He wished to reprove men, He did it in a straight- 
forward manner and in language which they could 
understand. If He wished to commend them, He 
adopted precisely the same course. There was no 
fulsome flattery on the one side, and no unnecessary 
denunciation on the other; but absolute truth spoken 
with a frankness which challenged the respect of even 
those who received His rebukes. When He spoke of 
the Pharisees and Sadducees, He did not use words 
that had a double meaning; He used the very words 
that met their case, that faithfully described their 
characters; and these men doubtless felt the force of 
His just rebukes. But when He spoke of the faith of 
the Centurian who struggled to get his servant healed. 
He said, “ I have not found so great faith, no not in 
Israel.” That was a short speech, but we think it 
would be difficult to find an instance where the same 
number of words would have expressed a more elo- 
quent eulogy. The language is perfectly frank, sen- 
tentious and wonderfully expressive. 

In the third place, there was manifest directness 


246 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


and an appeal to the heart in all that Christ said. He 
used no circumlocutions — His words went straight 
to the object at which they were aimed. Really, the 
people — the common people especially — cannot be 
reached in any other way. They want no philosophi- 
cal disquisitions; they want no elaborate scientific 
theories ; they want plain truth, spoken in plain words 
— words that go directly to their hearts. Preachers, 
as a class, often make a great mistake in regard to 
the matter now under consideration. They do not 
imitate Christ in directness of style. They delight 
in discussion of side issues, questions lying far out 
of the line of salvation. They use a scientific ter- 
minology, scholastic phrases and definitions, while 
they bewilder you with displays of rhetoric, or put 
you to sleep with the dullness of endless circumlo- 
cutions. But if we look over the preaching of Jesus 
we will find that He never even once indulged in this 
kind of discourse. His words were always simple, 
direct and chiefly to the heart, and not to the head. 
The fact is men are not led by their heads ; you must 
reach their hearts before you can lead them. Politi- 
cians understand this matter well enough, and we may 
understand it also if we will properly consider un- 
deniable facts. Take an example in political life. Put 
up two men for the same office. All the logic of 
politics may be on the side of one, but if the other 
is a man who mixes well with the people, who has a 
heart full of sympathy for every one he meets — in a 
word treats every one as if he were a brother — it is 
not difficult to determine how the contest will end, 
if the logician is largely deficient in these qualities. 
In the case of the man with the large heart the people 
do not stop to reason very much as to whether he is 
right or wrong on this or that question ; by plainness 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


247 

of speech and direct contact with them, he impresses 
his personality upon them, and they vote for him and 
elevate him to office out of purely personal considera- 
tions, while the other man is left at home where he 
can leisurely work out his logical theories undisturbed 
by the cares and perplexities of official position. 

Was it Mark Anthony’s logic over the dead body 
of Julius Caesar that moved the masses to start the 
revolution which the orator was aiming at? Was it 
the argument he used? I think not. It was rather 
the masterly appeal which he made from the dead 
Caesar’s wounds. He brought the people to realise 
that Caesar was their friend. He addresed their 
hearts rather than their heads. By playing upon their 
hearts the orator makes the people glorify him whom 
a little while ago they would have destroyed as a 
despot. Now, if such a change can be so quickly 
wrought by a falsehood, when skillfully managed, 
what shall we say of the influence of truth when it 
is fully concentrated upon the heart, and nothing is 
wasted on impractical side issues? 

Christ did not waste time in profitless discussion. 
Such questions as Fore-ordination and Election, the 
Eternal Decrees, etc., find no place in His discourses, 
nor does He engage in the polemics of the times. 
Even when the Pharisees and Sadducees encounter 
Him with what they suppose are puzzling questions. 
He always disposes of them with simply a word or 
two, and generally gives the discussion some practical 
turn for the help of human souls in their struggle 
for a better life. Thus in the shortest possible way 
He settles every question with His opponents, hangs 
them up on their own logic, and leaves them there 
dangling under the influence of a stroke of His power, 
while He ends the controversy by making it contrib- 


248 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

ute in no small degree to His mission in seeking and 
saving the lost. 

As long as it remains true that men are moved by 
appeals to their hearts rather than their heads, we 
need not wonder that a wise statesman said : “ let me 
make the songs of a nation and I care very little 
about who makes the laws.” Nor should we wonder 
that in the revolutions of the past, the poetry of 
struggle has done more to move the world than all 
the polemic encounters that have ever transpired be- 
tween theological or civic pugilists. The Marseilles 
Hymn did more to move the French people than all 
the logic of all their statesmen. What was it that 
carried forward the Reformation of Wesley? Was 
it John Wesley’s logic, or Charles Wesley’s songs? 
Doubtless the former had something to do with it, 
but it is certain the latter was altogether the more 
potent influence. One may have furnished the body, 
but the other put into the body the soul — was in fact 
the inspiration of the whole movement. Such songs 
as “ Jesus Lover of my Soul ” preached Christ 
more powerfully than all the arguments that John 
Wesley ever used. And while it cannot be denied 
that the preaching of John Wesley was always strong, 
and sometimes even eloquent, at the same time I do 
not hesitate to say that had it not been for the sing- 
ing Charles, the Wesleyan Reformation would have 
been a signal failure. John Calvin’s logic never con- 
verted anybody, but the wild enthusiasm of John Knox 
made Presbyterianism a power. Calvin’s Institutes 
lie upon the shelf of theological students, while the 
songs of Toplady are to-day the inspiration of the 
Church. 

We undervalue the true source of power. Christ 
did not discuss such questions as we think important. 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


249 


He dealt directly with what was needed. He went 
straight to the real difficulty. Hence His great suc- 
cess. We fail because we rest our plea upon the gossa- 
mer threads of theological controversy. If the head 
is right we are satisfied. But Christ’s effort was to 
make the heart right, knowing as He did that the 
head would always surely follow the heart. 

(2). Christ’s life was a grand demonstration of 
the truth of His teaching. Had Jesus just spoken 
to the people, however simple His words may have 
been ; had He been as frank as He was, and had He 
spoken as directly to the heart as He did, He could 
never have exerted the power He has, if His life had 
failed to exemplify the truth of the things which He 
taught. But everyone saw that there was perfect har- 
mony between what He said and what He did. The 
two held up together were exact counterparts of each 
other. There was no mistaking the fact that Jesus 
Himself was living out the principles He inculcated, 
and it was this that gave Him great power over the 
people with whom He associated, and it is this cen- 
tral fact in His life that largely binds us to Him 
to-day. He lived as He taught. He taught self-de- 
nial while He Himself exemplified His doctrine in the 
highest degree. He lived the most unselfish life. 
“ He was rich yet for our sake He became poor, 
that we through His poverty might be made rich. ,, 
Such self-abnegation as He manifested the world has 
never seen before or since. It stands out the one 
example of all history. When He was smitten upon 
one cheek He turned the other ; when He was reviled 
He reviled not again ; in everything giving prominence 
by His actions to the glorious principles which He 
inculcated upon those whom He had come to 
save. 


250 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

There is something in an unselfish life which seems 
naturally to take hold of the people, and there is 
something in a selfish life which seems naturally to 
repel them. Take, for example, a man who is a miser, 
who hoards up his money, who nurses it fondly as 
a mother does her child — watches over it with all 
the tender care of parental interest, who goes to sleep 
with his mind on his dust — if you know of such a one, 
need I ask if you ever heard of him having any in- 
fluence over the popular heart? Then think of all 
who have ever lived in the past, who have accumulated 
large fortunes, and spent these fortunes upon them- 
selves. What hold have these men upon their fellow 
men, and what influence have they ever exerted for 
good? They have had some influence because money 
is power, but it is an influence that lasts only while 
the money lasts. Just as in the case of the rich young 
man that went away from his father’s house and 
“ spent his substance with riotous living,” he was flat- 
tered and caressed while his money lasted. Doubt- 
less he had parasites by hundreds sticking to him 
while he was spending his money freely to satisfy their 
lusts; but when his money was gone, and when he 
would have eaten the husks which the swine left, it 
is said “ no man gave to him.” He was left without 
a single friend. Among all those who had gathered 
round him in his prosperity there was not one to 
give him the husks which the swine had left. When 
we build our reputation upon money, when our hold 
upon those with whom we are associated is simply 
through the power of means accumulated for selfish 
purposes, then I should say we have very little in- 
fluence, or at least influence for a very little while. 

But take a man who lives for the people, whose 
accumulations are used in the interests of humanity, 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


251 

who makes money not for himself, but for others, 
whose life is a perpetual demonstration of a conse- 
crated benevolence, and such a man will have an im- 
mense power while he lives, and his influence will 
continue long after he passes away from the present 
life. If you wish to test the popular heart in regard 
to its estimate of men of this class, take such an ex- 
ample, for instance, as George Peabody, and ask the 
people as you come to them what they think of him? 
It will not be long before you will be convinced that 
wealth, wisely distributed for the benefit of others, is 
much more powerful than wealth hoarded up during 
life, and unlocked after death, only to produce family 
alienations and legal squabbles. 

It is especially this unselfishness which appeals to 
the popular heart, and which we find in Christ’s life, 
that I desire to emphasise. There are many other 
things in His life which add not a little to the in- 
fluence which He has exerted upon the world. But 
there is, perhaps, nothing which so signally enshrines 
Him in the popular heart as the unselfishness which 
characterised every act of His personal ministry. 

(3). There is one other point in the history of 
Christ to which brief reference must be made. This 
presents the crowning act of His mission to the world 
— the act that gives endless vitality and power to all 
that He said and did. 

Christ might have been born in Bethlehem of Ju- 
dea; He might have taught just as He is represented 
to have done; He might have lived, in all respects, 
the unselfish life to which I have called attention; 
His words may have been simple, frank, and direct; 
His devotion to the interests of the people may have 
been characterised by all the qualities of which I have 
spoken; in other words, His teaching may have been 


252 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

perfect, and His life may have been in perfect har- 
mony with all He said; and yet He would not have 
been what He is to-day could nothing else be said of 
Him than what has so far been said. Such a life 
as we have already pictured could scarcely fail to 
produce a very decided influence upon the world. Most 
probably His history would have been written, and 
it would have pointed us to a character that was noble 
and self-sacrificing ; a character worthy of earnest 
study as exemplifying the highest type of a true man- 
hood. But all this never would have fastened us to 
Him by indissoluble ties, and made Him to us “ the 
chief among the ten thousand, the one altogether 
lovely.” 

It is Christ’s death that gives vitality and power to 
Christ’s life. We reach the full secret of His in- 
fluence in the Scripture : “ I, if I be lifted up from 
the earth, will draw all men unto me.” Only could 
Christ have said this in view of His crucifixion; only 
could He have said this in view of the fact that He 
intended to attach Himself to the human race by a 
tie stronger than even life itself. It is His grappling 
with death for us, and His victory over death, that we 
might be saved, that fixes Him in the hearts of the 
people and inspires every sin-burdened soul to say: 

Just as I am without one plea, 

But that Thy blood was shed for me, 

And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee, 

O Lamb of God, I come. 

We should not forget that there is great power in 
Christ’s life — in the wonderful example of His living 
— as also in the words which He uttered. But if we 
would be saved from our sins, we must come to His 
cross, for that only is the power of God and the 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


253 


wisdom of God. We may read His precepts and ad- 
mire them ; we may even try to practice them for the 
good they will be to us in this life; we may admire 
His example and seek to imitate Him — to walk in 
His footsteps — and we may to some extent be success- 
full; but unless we bring ourselves to the cross with 
every burden, every sin, and say: 

Here, Lord, I give myself to Thee, ’tis all that I can do. 

We will utterly fail to reach the highest point 
of Christ’s mission, and consequently can never ex< 
emplify in our own life that which was the highest 
power of His. Nor can we ever appreciate Christ in 
His true character until we meet Him at the Cross. 
Where is it that we feel weakest? Is it not in the 
presence of Death? Aye, where is it that we fee) 
utterly powerless ? Is it not when we are looking into 
the grave? Now the fact that Jesus has robbed death 
of its sting, the grave of its victory, and brought life 
and immortality to light through the Gospel, at once 
raises Him in our affections to the dignity of a God, 
and causes us to bow before Him in glorious adora- 
tion. We behold Him lifted upon the cross; we see 
His bleeding hands, His bleeding feet, and His pierced 
side; we remember that all this suffering is for our 
sake — that we might be “brought to God.” It may 
be that we are lingering afar off; but our eyes have 
caught the tragic scene, and our heart has felt the 
touching tenderness of the precious words : “ I, if I 
be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto 
me,” and we begin at once to feel ourselves instinc- 
tively drawn. We approach nearer and nearer. And 
as we continue to gaze upon the beautiful form, now 
marred by the cruel instruments of death, we give 


254 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

utterance to our feelings in what must always be the 
language of those who stand where we stand now: 

Oh, for such love let rocks and hills 
Their lasting silence break, 

And all harmonious human tongues 
The Saviour’s praises speak! 

It may be that the present age does not emphasise 
too much the life of Christ, but certainly it does not 
emphasise enough His death. Unquestionably the 
facts of His life are grand, but more than half their 
meaning is lost until we come to His death and 
resurrection. The angel that sat by the grave of 
Jesus told the whole story when he said, “ Come, see 
the place where the Lord lay.” Up to that hour His 
life had been one of condescension; from the manger 
down, down into the chambers of death, His life had 
been a life of sorrow. He had lived for others, and 
had finally given His life a ransom for all. He is 
buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathsea. The 
curtain falls on the most tragic scene the world has 
ever witnessed. After three days the heavenly mes- 
senger invites to examination, “ Come and see the 
place where the Lord lay.” 

Now begins a new era for Christ, as well as for 
the world. Out of the dark grave He comes; and 
from this time forward His career is one of victory. 
Soon He is carried by a convoy of angels to the 
mediatorial throne; and as they ascend we hear the 
angels shout : “ Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; and 
be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King 
of glory shall come in.” But the question is asked, 
“ Who is the King of glory ? ” The answer is full 
of consolation to every heart that trusts in Jesus for 
salvation. He is no longer “ the Man of Sorrows,” — 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


255 


“ the Suffering One of Calvary,” but “ The Lord, 
strong and mighty; the Lord, mighty in battle; the 
Lord of Hosts, He is the King of glory.” 

And here begins His triumphal reign. His life, 
death and resurrection are now all joined together 
in giving potency to the proclamation which He makes 
to the world. All these are used in convincing, en- 
treating, and warning rebellious sinners. But there 
is one fact which can never be obscured by the glory 
of anything that surrounds it, and that fact is ex- 
pressed in the language already quoted : “ I, if I be 
lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto 
me.” 

In the light of the foregoing considerations we are 
now able to realise that “ All things work together 
for good to them that love God,” etc. But we are 
so prone to pick and choose ; to separate what God has 
joined together! Nevertheless, we should remember 
that everything of suffering required of us, Christ 
Himself took part of the same. He requires us to go 
through no darker rooms than He went through be- 
fore us. We must not, therefore, become pessimists 
and fall in love with darkness, because darkness comes 
before the light. The evening was before the morn- 
ing in the recreation. When the light shineth, we 
should seek the light. We should be thankful for the 
days of sunshine, and constantly take a cheerful view 
of life! for after all we cannot have growth without 
the sunshine, however true it may be that “ some days 
must be dark and dreary.” Indeed, we may all do 
well to 

Count the days of sunshine, mark them on the pane 
Where you’re sure to see them through the mist and rain; 
They are sent to brighten coming dreary days, 

Count the days of sunshine, fill the hours with praise. 


256 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

Think about the sunshine, life is gladder far 

Than we sometimes deem it ; through the gloom a star 

Ever shines to guide us when a song we raise, 

God’s within the future and the cloudy days. 

Talk about the sunshine with a glad content; 

Thank the gracious giver for each blessing sent; 

Tell of loving kindness; labyrinthian ways 
Oft, e’en this side Heaven, lead to happier days. 

Sing about the sunshine, it will soften pain, 

Lift your courage higher, bid you hope again; 

Doubt is for a moment, shadows flee away; 

With the dawn of morning, Joy resumes her sway. 

But, after all, it is not these characteristics of Jesus 
which indicate the secret of His power over men so 
much as Jesus Himself in His concrete Personality. 
It is the man Christ Jesus that dominates the world. 
We must study Him as He stands before us the in- 
comparable character of all history, and when we 
study Him in this way, we do not depend upon any 
particular feature of His character ; indeed, we do not 
study Him at all in any analytic fashion. We are at 
once dominated by His overpowering Personality, and 
though we cannot perhaps reconcile all the facts of 
His earthly history with the results of our limited 
means of investigation, nevertheless, we are compelled 
to cry out with one of His Apostles who began his 
investigation by doubting and ended by exclaiming: 
“ My Lord and my God.” It is probable that ninety- 
nine in every hundred who have accepted Jesus as 
their Mediator and Lord, have never troubled them- 
selves with the intellectual difficulties which gather 
about His birth, His miracles and His resurrection 
from the dead. Some way the human heart simply 
trusts Him, and does so apparently without much 
intellectual reasoning. Do we ask for the source of 


THE MISSION OF CHRIST 


257 


final authority? It is not because He Himself said 
that all authority in Heaven and earth is given to 
Him that we regard Him as the source of final ap- 
peal; but mainly, if not entirely, because there is 
something in Him that attaches us to Him, and prac- 
tically compels us to trust Him right in the face of 
intellectual difficulties, which probably would call our 
faith to halt were it not for His magnificent and con- 
trolling Personality. The secret of His power is still 
a secret to all who follow Him, and this secret cannot 
be determined by purely intellectual investigation ; 
but with those who feel the charm of His delightful 
presence, and the touch of His warm, sympathetic 
hand, and come in contact with His marvellous and 
supreme heart-life, there is no longer any hesitancy to 
accept His Lordship and to follow Him wheresoever 
He leadeth, even though they are wholly unable to 
explain the secret of His transcendence and imma- 
nence in the religious life. They simply give them- 
selves unreservedly to His leadership and largely leave 
intellectual problems to take care of themselves until 
the “ mists have cleared away.” 

It is precisely this many-sided Christ that meets 
exactly the needs of the human race; and it is an 
illuminating fact that the New Testament especially 
throws the limelight upon the Christ through different 
lenses. Each writer contributes a certain colouring 
which helps to make up His great personality. As 
the different colours of the rays of light on the pris- 
matic spectrum, when blended together, make what 
we call white light, so these different colours of the 
different writers give us the white light of Him who 
is the light of the world. Looked at from an intellec- 
tual point of view, He is the marvel of the ages ; but 
He is even more of a marvel when we study Him from 


258 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

the heart point of view. His was chiefly heart power, 
though even this does not in any sense antagonise a 
legitimate intellectual development. In Christ the two 
forces meet and coalesce. They are complements of 
each other, and supplement each other. When har- 
monised, they contribute to the highest development 
of character, and it is perhaps in this harmony that, 
after all, the secret of Christ’s power over men is to 
be found. He contains within Himself all the best 
things of the Academy as well as the best things of 
the Temple. In Him are united science and religion. 


HELP IN OVERCOMING 


The mills of God grind slowly fine, 

And do not stop for cold or heat, 

They grind and grind until the wheat, 

With His great purposes combine. 

— ' W. T. M. 


Some day we’ll know and we’ll understand, 

Heart of my heart, in a lily-sweet land; 

Some day the mystery and meaning will shine, 

Heart of my heart, both for your eyes and mine! 

Some day we’ll know why the worry and care 
Have come for our hearts and our shoulders to bear ; 
Some day we’ll know of the rest that we dream. 

And the cool of the grass and the charm of the stream, 
Low in the valley and high on the hill, 

Where the heartbeat of time trembles softly and still ! 
Some day we’ll know all we hunger to know. 

Heart of my heart, in the land where we go ! 

This that is trouble and worry and pain 

Shall fall from our lives like the mist after rain! 

Some day we’ll know it was sweet to have borne 
Our share to the shores of the land of the morn ! 

— Baltimore Sun. 

Thou canst not tell how rich a dowry sorrow gives the 
soul, how firm a faith and eagle sight of God. — Dean Alford. 

Our sorrows are like thunder-clouds, which seem black in 
the distance, but grow lighter as they approach. — Richter. 


VI 


HELP IN OVERCOMING 

We have already seen that the conflict between good 
and evil is the conflict of the ages. We may not un- 
derstand the philosophy of this conflict in every re- 
spect, but we all understand the fact that the conflict 
exists. Nothing is more clearly revealed in human 
history than the constant antagonism between the 
two rival forces. It may be that some time when the 
opposing forces are made to occupy their legitimate 
places, it will appear evident without questioning, 
that this conflict will produce harmony in the moral 
world, just as the centripetal and centrifugal forces 
produce harmony in the physical universe. Nature 
and grace are complimentary of each other. Indeed, 
the Bible is nature’s tongue proclaiming what is prac- 
tically universal law. 

We may not understand all the facts involved in 
this great problem. It may even seem strange that 
the conflict has not long ago terminated, in order 
that the end of human suffering might be reached. 
But this view of the matter practically eliminates some 
of the most important elements entering into the prob- 
lem. What if it were impossible for the Great Creator 
to make a human being, such as man is, without the 
very process through which his development has 
passed? What if the price of intellectual freedom 
was the dethronement of the spiritual nature? What 
if this dethronement must necessarily be followed by a 
261 


262 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


long train of suffering as a condition of the restora- 
tion of the heart, or the religious nature, to its regal 
position? Of course we cannot be absolutely sure of 
what the answers should be to these suggestions, but 
we can see enough below the surface of things to 
justify the conclusion that the methods of God are 
eminently wise, and that probably the outcome of 
this struggle, though long and painful, will reach a 
much higher development in manhood and woman- 
hood than could possibly have been reached in any 
other way. It is easy to say, with Philip II. of Spain, 
that if the making of the universe had been committed 
to our hands it would have been constructed in a very 
different way. But this easy solution of the problem 
will not satisfy thinking men and women. No one 
has ever lived in human history who has even sug- 
gested a better or more reasonable view of creation 
than that described in the Bible and illustrated in hu- 
man history. The suggestion that man should have 
been made differently breaks down at the very start, 
for in that case it is at once apparent that “ man ” 
would not have been man. It is true that something 
else might have been created and this creation could 
not have sinned ; but such a result would utterly have 
failed to realise the kind of being God proposed to 
create. It is also true that when man sinned he might 
have been turned out of the garden and left to irre- 
trievably perish in his sin. But how would that have 
helped the outcome of human history? Doubtless 
much misery and painful suffering has followed in 
the pathway of human struggle, but there has been a 
beautiful promise lighting up the dark places from, 
the fall of Adam down to the present time. This 
promise looks to the final redemption of all who ac- 
cept the glad tidings which were announced definitely 


HELP IN OVERCOMING 


263 

and clearly in the angel song at the Nativity. Brown- 
ing saw this happy outcome of the struggle between 
good and evil and said: 

There shall never be one lost good ! what was shall live as 
before ; 

The evil is null, is nought, is silence implying sound; 

What was good shall be good, with, for evil, so much more ; 

On earth the broken arcs ; in heaven a perfect round. 

But it is not necessary in our present discussion to 
pursue these somewhat speculative matters any fur- 
ther. We must deal with the facts as they exist, and 
these facts are truly stubborn things. Nevertheless, 
when we have the whole case fully before us it will 
doubtless appear to every reasonable thinker that it 
is not so very difficult, after all, to “ justify the ways 
of God to man ” ; and furthermore, it will appear that 
even the stubborn facts may be so overcome or ad- 
justed as to assure through all the struggles the final 
best interest of the human race. In other words, when 
the help is used, which is practically at our disposal, 
the problem of the conflict may be solved, if not 
easily, nevertheless, solved in a way that will show 
God is just while at the same time he is the justifier 
of all who believe in Jesus. 

But there are some helps which may be assured to 
us in this mighty conflict “ with principalities and 
powers, with spiritual wickedness in high places.” 
These helps must come from two sources. They 
must be both human and divine, and this fact harmon- 
ises exactly with the whole history of Creation, Provi- 
dence and Redemption. 

(1). Let us look at the help which must come to 
us from the divine side. Jesus uttered a great truth. 


264 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

and one entirely in harmony with human experiences, 
when he said to his disciples, “ without me you can 
do nothing.” The mistake which some men make of 
supposing that they can fight out the battle of life 
and win the victory, without Divine assistance, is 
really more than a mistake, it is supreme folly. With- 
out the help which comes through Jesus Christ no one 
can win a victory over the powers of evil. Our 
strength must come from him, as we have already 
seen our life is in him. The Apostle Paul was speak- 
ing as a philosopher, as well as making a great declara- 
tion true to human experience, when he said, “ I can 
do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.” 
Both the human side and the divine side are recog- 
nised in this statement. If either should be eliminated 
this statement would not be true. Paul does not un- 
dervalue his own responsibilities, nor does he sink 
in any respect his own personality. Indeed, the pro- 
noun / is placed at the very beginning of the sentence. 
It is prominently emphasised. The human side is 
distinctly recognised; but, after all, he could do noth- 
ing without Christ, for it was from Christ that he 
received his strength. 

Surely there is a great lesson in all this. But I fear 
it is sadly unrecognised by many professing Christians. 
It has already been pointed out that our association 
with Christ must be very intimate if we are to expect 
help from this association. Our relations to him must 
be more than formal. We must be in him and he in 
us. When He said “ Lo, I am with you alway,” He 
meant more than a formal presence. There is in this 
promise the intimation of the closest fellowship. It 
is a promise of a present help in every time of need. 
It was even more than this. It is a promise of con- 
stant companionship, and every one knows how help- 


HELP IN OVERCOMING 265 

ful a sanctified companionship may be. We are created 
social beings, and there is perhaps nothing more help- 
ful to us, in any struggle, than to feel we have the 
sympathy of some true friend who “ sticketh closer 
than a brother/’ This is precisely the position which 
Christ occupies with respect to his disciples, if they 
allow him to come to them and in them with all of 
his saving power. When the struggle is fiercest, do 
we not often drive him away from us by our doubts 
and our cold indifference with respect to his promised 
help? We try to save ourselves without him, and yet 
without him we can do nothing. 

This suggestion, in my judgment, is of supreme im- 
portance. Some way or other we are in the habit 
of thinking of Christ as a person who lived 1800 
and odd years ago. He is placed far away from us. 
We believe in the historic Christ. This is all right 
as far as it goes. But it does not seem to go far 
enough. We need a Christ who is with us always 
even to the conclusion of the present age. We need 
him all the time and everywhere. He not only ever 
liveth to make intercession for us, but we ourselves 
should live in constant touch with his gracious help 
on our behalf. His hand should be constantly in ours, 
as His life is constantly our life. Christ is still work- 
ing out the problem of His mission. The language of 
Luke, in the beginning of the book of Acts, is very 
suggestive. He refers to what Jesus “ began both 1 
to do and teach.” This imperfect tense clearly indi- 
cates that His Personal doing and teaching did not 
end with His earthly ministry. He is now the living 
Christ, a gracious high priest who is touched with the 
feeling of our infirmities. He can help with a strong 
hand; He knows just what we need; He has been 
all through the realm of human experience; He is 


266 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

therefore willing to help; He has power to help, and 
is ready to help in every time of need. 

Just here we reach the most potent means by which 
overcoming in the Christian life can be assured ; and 
yet some way we lose sight of this great reservoir of 
resources while engaged in the conflict with the evil 
forces which are around us. He that is for us is 
greater than he that is against us. But we must trust 
our cause in His hands. We must gird ourselves in 
His strength. We must build up our spiritual life 
by a constant inflow from Christ’s life. He is the 
vine, we are the branches. 

We wrongly estimate the conditions of human hap- 
piness. We reckon almost entirely from the outside. 
But the beatitudes of Christ are practically all cen- 
tred in the inner life. They do not even specially 
touch the intellect. They have mainly to do with 
heart experiences. His first disciples had a very un- 
inviting prospect presented in the outer conditions of 
their lives. Jesus told them that in this world they 
would have tribulations, but in Him they would have 
peace. This fact clearly indicates that the peace which 
reigns within, and which is obtained only through 
Christ’s own gracious indwelling, does not destroy 
the conflict which is precipitated by the evil influences 
of the world. But the word “ happiness ” does not 
properly express the promise of Christ with respect 
to the peace which should come to his followers. 
Happiness is a term which carries with it the idea of 
external relations, at least this is the primary thought 
in the meaning of the word. There is another New 
Testament word which more distinctly expresses the 
true meaning of Christ, and that is the word joy. 
He said to His disciples, “ I leave with you my joy 
that your joy may be full.” The word is of French 


HELP IN OVERCOMING 267 

origin, and indicates a life springing from within, as 
a fountain rising from its source. The joy which 
Christ gives is a fountain within us, and consequently 
thoroughly harmonises with his beatitudes, which all 
have an inward look. The word “ blessed ” is there- 
fore a better word than “ happy ” with which to in- 
troduce these beatitudes. 

The subsequent life of Christ’s disciples strikingly 
illustrates this inner comfort and peace which the 
words blessed and joy imply. It is certainly true that 
in the world they had tribulation, but this “ tribulation 
worked patience, and patience experience, and ex- 
perience hope.” The inner life of His disciples was 
constantly cheered by the “ joy ” which He left with 
them, so that their joy was indeed full; and this en- 
abled them to rejoice in that they were “ counted 
worthy to suffer for Christ’s sake.” Indeed,, the 
Apostle to the Romans is so certain of these tribula- 
tions and their final influence upon the inner life of 
Christians, that he actually says, “ we glory in tribu- 
lations.” 

Looked at from a worldly point of view this fact 
must seem remarkable; and yet it is precisely what 
is anticipated for his disciples by all the teaching 
of Jesus; showing most clearly that the kingdom, 
which He came to establish, comes not by outward ap- 
pearance or observation, but is a kingdom within us; 
it is not meat and drink, but “ righteousness, and 
peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” 

This view of the matter undoubtedly emphasises 
very strongly the position which has been maintained 
throughout this volume, namely: that religion should 
be the chief concern of man, as it certainly was with 
Christ Jesus our Lord ; and as a consequence the heart 
is practically everything as the starting point in the 


268 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


formation of religion in the human soul. It further- 
more follows that religion is mainly a thing within us 
rather than a thing in the world. It is a baptism in 
water, in the Holy Spirit and in suffering. John the 
Baptist said that Jesus would baptise in the Holy 
Spirit and fire. Now this baptism in fire is almost 
certainly a baptism in suffering. Christ Himself was 
baptised in suffering, and he put the question to his 
disciples as to whether they would be able to be 
baptised in the baptism in which he should be bap- 
tised. It need scarcely be stated that this is not the 
popular interpretation of John’s language; but it is 
believed that the interpretation just given will stand 
against all legitimate criticism; and this view of the 
matter is strengthened by the fact that it harmonises 
with all the teaching of the New Testament with re- 
spect to the suffering of true Christians ; it also makes 
it clear that “ we must through much tribulation enter 
into the kingdom of God.” 

But all this is easily understood and accounted for 
when we remember that fellowship with Christ’s suf- 
ferings is, after all, the only way we can be glorified 
with Him. We must suffer with Him that we may be 
glorified together. 

Looked at from any point of view Christ Himself 
is our great helper. We cannot do without him. 
Our lives are hid with him in God. He is our hope 
of glory. He is the very staff of life, the bread which 
cometh down from Heaven, of which if we eat we 
shall never hunger. He is the very water of life, of 
which if we drink we shall never thirst. He is the 
fountain of life, out of which flow the streams of 
living water. When He is ours and we are His there 
can be no doubt about the issue of the conflict. The 
time of His second coming may seem to be delayed. 


HELP IN OVERCOMING 269 

We may grow impatient on account of the struggle 
in which we are engaged. We may even be dis- 
couraged at the apparent failure of our best efforts 
to win for his cause; but as sure as they who do the 
will of God abide forever, so sure is it that if we are 
united to Christ, in a real sense, and live in Him, 
receiving our life from Him, we shall ultimately con- 
quer through Him, for He “ ever liveth to make in- 
tercession for us.” 

This union with Christ is a great matter; indeed it 
is everything. We have already seen that this union 
is formed through an obedient faith in Him. This 
faith practically impresses the whole man — his intel- 
lect, his heart and his body. The Gospel has some- 
thing in it for each part of this threefold nature. 
It has light for the head, love for the heart and action 
for the body. Consequently to learn, to love, and 
to do may be regarded as expressing the whole of re- 
ligion from the human side, and a faith in Christ 
which comprehends this trinity is undoubtedly the 
faith that saves. 

But when the union is formed, how shall it be pre- 
served? One word gives us the key to this whole 
mystery. Union with Christ is preserved by com- 
munion with him. If it be true that without Him we 
can do nothing, it is equally true that without Him 
we can be nothing, so far as religion is concerned. 
We must live in constant communion with him. This 
fact lends a new emphasis to his promise to “be 
with ” his disciples “ to the end of the world.” In 
some way we must touch Him at all points in our 
Christian experience. His hand must be in ours 
wherever we go or whatever we do. 

The Apostle Paul gives us a fine conception of the 
value of this communion with Christ through a strik- 


270 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

in g figure which he introduces. In the twelfth chapter 
of first Corinthians he reckons Christ as the head of 
the Church and the Church itself as His body. Now 
the head is the source of authority, of guidance, etc. 
To use a popular style, rather than to be strictly 
scientific, it is well known that there are two sets of 
nerves running through the body, one leading from 
the head to every portion of the body, and another 
from every portion of the body back to the head. 
These nerves constitute what may be called tele- 
graphic wires through which communication is kept 
up between the head and the body. Suppose, for in- 
stance, some part of the body suffers pain. This fact 
is immediately telegraphed to the head, and the head 
responds by giving direction as to what shall be done 
to meet the case. Precisely so is it with respect to 
our relations to the great head of the Church. In 
the Church all the members are so intimately asso- 
ciated that “ if one member suffers all the members 
suffer with it, or if one member is honoured, all the 
members rejoice with it.” Consequently when one 
member of the Church is involved in any way this 
member may communicate with the head of the Church 
through the means ordained for that purpose, and the 
head will give instructions and help in the hour of 
need. This fact indicates one of the meanings of 
prayer. It is a telegram over the wire of faith by 
which our needs are made known to Him who is our 
life and our salvation. 

We can now see very clearly how important it is 
to use the means ordained of God by which to keep 
in constant contact with the source of all our bless- 
ings. Reading and meditating upon the Word of 
God as well as the works of God in nature, at the 
same time “ praying always with all prayer and sup- 


HELP IN OVERCOMING 


271 

plication of the spirit ” constitute the chief means by 
which the union between Christ and His disciples 
may be preserved. 

Just here it is interesting to notice how completely 
Christ, in his great personality, covers the whole 
ground of every soul of the human race. He has 
been called the “ universal Christ,” and this appel- 
lation does not overstate the facts of the case. He 
is equally at home with every race. The inscription 
which Pilate wrote on the cross was really prophetic 
of what Jesus would be to the people of this world. 
He was Hebrew, Greek and Latin. In a recent pub- 
lication, entitled “ The Universality of Jesus,” the Rev. 
G. A. Johnston Ross, M. A., brings out the fact of 
Christ’s universality in a most striking manner, and 
at the conclusion of his volume he makes one appli- 
cation of this unique character of Christ which is 
worth while quoting. He says : 

“We believe that this Catholic Christ is by His liv- 
ing Spirit moving still in the hearts of men for the 
fulfillment of the designs of God. It is true the spirit 
of provincialism dies hard : in political life, where men 
are so slow to realise that the catholicity of Jesus has 
altered the content of the idea of patriotism, and is 
the herald and regulator of a larger and more cos- 
mopolitan ideal than that of the older nationalism: in 
ecclesiastical life, there, to the infinite saddening of 
many hearts, pride and the fear of man are raising 
barriers where the Catholic Christ would fain destroy 
them : in our moral life, where a kindly and hospitable 
good will struggles with the bitterness and selfishness 
of narrow sympathies. And yet the Catholic Christ 
must triumph ; and for His triumph we must work and 
watch and pray — not without suffering, for he who, 
declining the role of proselytiser, sectary, partisan, and 


272 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

works for the larger unity that is to be, must endure 
the frequent reproaches of the belligerent brother who 
lives for the victories of the hour, and the success of 
his particular party. But just here is the “ patience 
of the saints ” ; they who have seen the vision of the 
Universal Jesus will wait and work and pray, even 
though around them are the thickets and stockades of 
a militant sectarianism and though the air is full of 
the obscene riots of party cries — striving in all they 
do to contribute to the fulfillment of their High Priest’s 
prayer for a truly Catholic unity corresponding to the 
Universality of His Person, when there shall be, the 
whole world over, but one flock, and one Shepherd.” 

Before closing this chapter it may be well to con- 
sider a little further the human side of the question 
under consideration. How may Christians them- 
selves help themselves in the conflict in which they 
are engaged? Three things may be mentioned that 
will be of great value if they are properly observed : 

(i). We must guard our thinking. Very few peo- 
ple seem to regard their thoughts as important in the 
formation of character. Nevertheless thought is a 
powerful influence in making us what we are. The 
world of thought is part of the environment in which 
we live, and we have already seen how great is the 
power of environment in building manhood and 
womanhood. Evidently the Apostle was justified 
when he said, “ Brethren whatsoever things are true, 
whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are 
just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things 
are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if 
there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think 
on these things.” It should be noticed that every- 
thing in this catalogue upon which we are to think is 
on the better side of life. If everything produces 


HELP IN OVERCOMING 


273 

after its kind, as is undoubtedly a universal law, this 
thinking upon the true, the honest, the just, the pure, 
the lovely, the things of good report, will produce upon 
the life these very things, and these will come out in 
the character, for whatsoever we sow we will reap. 

Doubtless we find here one reason why meditation 
upon the word of God is helpful in our conflict with 
evil. The Psalmist prayed that the meditation of his 
heart might be acceptable in the sight of God. In 
another place he tells us that “the law of the Lord 
was his meditation all his days/’ and in still another 
place he declares that the blessed man is one who 
“ meditates upon the law of the Lord day and night.” 

It may be that our religion is not too active, but it 
is probably true that it is too little contemplative. To 
meditate upon the works of God in nature is a most 
profitable exercise of the mind, and for this exercise 
we need the quiet hour. Truly may we say : 

Discordant notes in music far exceed 
The notes of perfect concord, and they lead 
In driving on the movement of the piece, 

While concords halt and bid all sounds to cease. 

Just so the music of our life retains 
Some discords in its finest, sweetest strains. 

And these impart both energy and zest. 

While concords tend to enervating rest. 

Still, after all, we need some quiet hours. 

In which we may restore our wasted pow’rs ; 

And there’s no time when thoughts more sweetly flow, 
Than when the evening sun is setting low. 

Imagination’s wide, extended wings 
Help us to rise above mere temp’ral things, 

While thoughts come trooping to the soul in trains. 

As notes do follow notes in music’s strains. 

’Twas in the silence of the evening late, 

That Isaac went in fields to meditate. 

When soon Rebecca, coming into sight, 

Filled all his waiting soul with pure delight. 


274 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

It was with troops of camels she did ride, 

Herself to offer Isaac for his bride; 

Her coming was with dignity and grace. 

And by this act did honor to her race. 

So we must often in the silence find 

The noblest thoughts that come into the mind, 

Thoughts lovely as Rebecca at her goal. 

They come in troops to wed the waiting soul. 

But we are told that we cannot control our thoughts. 
This is not true, provided we train our thoughts to 
obedience like we do our actions. Impure thoughts 
may come into the mind, but if we drive them out a 
few times they will cease to come again. If we resist 
the Devil he will flee from us. The best way to get 
rid of evil thoughts is to think upon the things the 
Apostle has enumerated for us. Take the one refer- 
ence, at the conclusion of his list, namely — the things 
that are of “ good report,” and let us see how thinking 
upon these things will drive out the things of evil re- 
port. It is admitted that with our newspapers full of 
things of evil report, it is difficult to read these things 
and at the same time be free from their bad influence 
upon our lives. There are those who think that to 
come in contact with evil, to meet it every day, is the 
best way to overcome it. This means we must put 
our hands in the fire in order that we may keep from 
being burned. Strong men and women in the faith 
may meet evil in all of its forms, but the average 
Christian needs to be very careful how he even thinks 
upon evil things, for “ as a man thinketh in his heart 
so is he.” His character will be largely what his 
thinking is. 

( 2 ). We must talk about the things that are good 
in order to be good ourselves . There is no stronger 
exhortation in the word of God than that in respect 


HELP IN OVERCOMING 


275 


to guarding* the tongue. Though a little member of 
the body, compared with other members, it is declared 
to be “ a fire, a world of iniquity and defileth the 
whole body, setting on fire the course of nature, and 
is itself set on fire of Hell.” Consequently we are 
commanded to “ bridle the tongue,” so as to hold it 
in subjection. We must not therefore talk about evil 
things, so as to make the tongue an evil instead of a 
blessing. Truly has Will Carleton said: 

Boys flying kites haul in their white-winged birds; 

You can’t do that way when you’re flying words. 

“ Careful with fire,” is good advice we know, 

“Careful with words,” is ten times doubly so. 

Thoughts unexpressed may sometimes fall back dead, 

But God Himself can’t kill them when they’re said. 

Now if evil words produce evil, it is equally true 
that good words produce good. Talking about things 
that are good, right and true will not only help these 
things themselves, but also help us ; for it is one of the 
blessed facts connected with our religion that there is 
nothing that we are called upon to think, speak, or do, 
that may not react upon ourselves most favourably 
in the development of Christian character. Speaking 
is a social exercise, and when it is about such things 
as concern the development of character, it is most 
helpful in this direction. No wonder the Prophet 
Malachi declares that “ they that feared the Lord 
spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened 
and heard them, and a book of remembrance was 
written before him for them that feared the Lord, and 
thought upon His name.” The power of words for 
good is clearly indicated in all those Scriptures where 
we are commanded to exhort one another, and so 
much the more as we see the day approaching. Then 
again we are to speak to one another in spiritual songs, 


276 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord. 
Truly has the wise man said that “ a word fitly spoken 
is like apples of gold in baskets of silver.” 

(3). Our actions should have a helpful influence in 
giving us strength for the great conflict in which we 
are engaged. What we do is after all the measure of 
character. Our thoughts and words are most impor- 
tant as regards our influence upon others, as well as 
upon ourselves ; but action is the final test of character. 
While every thought and every idle word will come 
into judgment, after all, it is our deeds which must 
determine mainly our final doom. Every man shall 
be judged according to his works, whether they have 
been good or whether they have been evil. 

But we are considering at present the influence of 
our actions in giving us strength to fight the battle 
with evil; and it is just as true with respect to conduct 
as to anything else that “ whatsoever a man soweth 
that shall he also reap.” If we sow to the flesh we 
shall of the flesh reap corruption, but if we sow to 
the spirit we shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. 
It is rather remarkable and certainly very suggestive 
that the law of life makes our conduct react upon 
us so that it becomes either a means of strength, or 
weakness, according to whether it is good or evil. A 
passage in Isaiah, xl, 31, is luminous with respect to 
the helpfulness of right living in regard to the strength 
we need to enable us to overcome in our conflict with 
evil. The passage may be rendered more in harmony 
with the original if it reads as follows : “ They that 

wait upon the Lord shall change strength; they shall 
mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not 
be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Now what 
is meant by waiting upon the Lord, in this connection ? 
The word “ wait ” has different meanings in the Scrip- 


HELP IN OVERCOMING 


277 

tures. It may mean to delay, and in this sense it is 
sometimes used in a very precious manner. But in 
the quotation, the word evidently means to wait upon 
the Lord in service, as one who serves at the table is 
called a waiter. Consequently they that serve the 
Lord shall change strength, and this is precisely what 
the Christian needs in his conflict with evil; he does- 
not need his own strength, at least he must not trust 
it. He needs the strength of the Lord, and he can 
have this strength by serving Him. 

>We have here expressed what is practically a uni- 
versal law. A man who is a farmer, by doing the 
work of a farmer, gains strength for his work. A 
lawyer by practicing his profession gets strength for 
the work. The physician gains strength in the same 
way, and the minister of the Gospel can never succeed 
in his profession until he has practiced that profes- 
sion. When at the conclusion of the Civil War a 
United States Senator was asked what was the best 
way to resume specie payment, he answered by saying 
that “ The best way to resume was to resume. ,, There 
is a great deal of truth underlying this somewhat 
curious way of putting the case. When I have been 
asked what is the best way to preach, I have always 
answered — the best way to preach is to preach; and 
this statement every man will find to be true — who 
has attempted to preach at all. We say in common 
parlance that practice makes perfect, and the uni- 
versal experience of mankind attests the truth of this 
maxim. Now, if we wish the strength of the Lord 
to help us in our conflict with evil, we must wait upon 
Him, or do the work which He has commanded us to 
do, in order that we may have His strength ; and we 
have already seen that without His strength we can 
do nothing that will help us to overcome. 


278 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

This reaction of service upon ourselves is one of the 
most important things to be considered in reference 
to the Christian life. We must do things in order that 
we may be prepared to do them. Every battle that is 
fought and won helps us in our strength for the next 
contest, and it is certainly a very striking fact that 
the Lord has made our service to him the means of 
giving us strength to serve Him. Even in prayer, 
not the least help we receive is the reaction of prayer 
upon ourselves. He who prays much and earnestly 
will help to create an atmosphere around him, or an 
environment, in which the things for which he prays 
may actually grow and become abundant in feeding 
his spiritual life. We must not forget that life is con- 
stant correspondence with our environment; but the 
very life we live may have much to do with creating 
the environment with which we must keep in constant 
correspondence. 

Just here it may be comforting to notice what fol- 
lows in the experience of those who wait upon the 
Lord, as has been suggested. It is declared that they 
“ shall mount up with wings as eagles.” This is a 
blessed assurance. They are to “ mount up.” Our 
ideals are all above us. Our beatific visions are from 
mountain tops. We see clearly only when we are 
above the lowlands, the fogs and the murky atmos- 
phere. Our aspirations are upward. Hope itself 
sets as a star in the firmament, and when Emerson 
gave advice he said : “ Hitch your waggon to a star.” 

Christians should hitch their waggons to the Star of 
Bethlehem. 

“ They shall mount up.” This is, indeed, a blessed 
promise. But “they shall mount up on wings as 
eagles.” This is a fine simile. Naturalists tell us the 
eagle teaches her young to fly by placing it on her 


HELP IN OVERCOMING 


279 


back, and rising a little way, and then letting it fall. 
The young eagle begins at once to exercise its wings, 
but soon comes down to the ground. The old eagle 
now goes down after it again and again, and lifting 
it higher and higher every time, until at last the eaglet 
has gained sufficient strength to fly, and fixing its eye 
on the sun it is soon lost in the blue ether. 

Now this illustrates God’s dealings with us. Some- 
times we feel as if He had left us entirely ; but He has 
only left us that we may exercise our wings of faith 
while falling to the ground. He soon comes after us 
again, and taking us higher and higher each time 
after the falling, we presently have strength for the 
flying, or for the contest with evil, and fixing our eyes 
upon the Sun of Righteousness, we now soar above the 
lowlands where the influences of evil darken our lives 
and destroy our spiritual vision. 

It is also affirmed in the passage, under considera- 
tion, that they that wait upon the Lord “ shall run 
and not be weary, shall walk and not faint.” This is 
certainly a comforting assurance. How many souls 
have been waiting for this blessed experience! But 
we must go up to the highlands of God before we can 
have this experience. Whoever has gone upon a high 
mountain will, at first, perhaps find some difficulty in 
breathing; but when this feeling is overcome he will 
be surprised to notice how easy running or walking 
is, as compared with the same exercise at the sea level. 
So it is with respect to our service for our Lord. This 
service becomes easy the higher we ascend into the 
spiritual sphere. The more we do for our Master the 
more strength will we receive, and consequently the 
less friction there is in the running or walking ; so that 
we may soon run and not be weary, walk and not 
faint. 


280 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

Surely this is a comforting view of the whole mat- 
ter, and helps us to realise what the Apostle says to 
the Romans that “ the sufferings of the present time 
are not worthy to be compared to the glory which 
shall be revealed in us.” The suffering of the con- 
flict, or the weight of the service, cannot be compared 
to what shall come out of it all when “ the wicked 
shall cease from troubling and when the weary are at 
rest.” 


THE FINAL VICTORY 


Sometime when all life’s lessons have been learned, 

And sun and stars forever have set. 

The things which our weak judgments here have spurned — 
The things o’er which we grieved with lashes wet — 

Will flash before us out of life’s dark night, 

As stars shine most in deepest tints of blue; 

And we shall see how all God’s plans are right, 

And how what seems reproof was love most true. 

And we shall see how, while we frown and sigh, 

God’s plans go on as best for you and me; 

How, when we called, He heeded not our cry. 

Because His wisdom to the end could see. 

And even as wise parents disallow 
Too much of sweet to craving babyhood, 

So God, perhaps, is keeping from us now 
Life’s sweetest things because it seemeth good. 

And if sometimes commingled with life’s wine 
We find the wormwood and rebel and shrink, 

Be sure a wiser hand than yours or mine 
Pours out this portion for our lips to drink, 

And if some friend we love is lying low. 

Where human kisses cannot reach his face, 

Oh, do not blame the Loving Father so. 

But treat your sorrow with obedient grace. 

And you shall shortly know that lengthened breath 
Is not the sweetest gift God sends His friends, 

And that sometimes the sable pall of death 
Conceals the fairest boon His love can send. 

If we could push ajar the gates of life 
And stand within, and all God’s workings see, 

We could interpret all this doubt and strife, 

And for each mystery could find a key. 

But not to-day. Then be content, poor heart! 

God’s plans like lilies pure and white unfold, 

We must not tear the close-shut leaves apart; 

Time will reveal the calyxes of gold, 

And if through patient toil we reach the land 
Where tired feet with sandals loosed may rest, 

When we shall clearly see and understand, 

I think that we will say, “ God knew the best.” 


VII 


THE FINAL VICTORY 

When one reaches the mountain top he soon forgets 
the weary climbing. The splendid view, the exhilarat- 
ing atmosphere, and the sense of having triumphed, 
all conspire to more than compensate for the weariness 
of the struggle in the ascent. We are so constituted 
that, as Seneca remarks, our troubles diminish in 
magnitude the moment we are through with them. 
What appears to be a herculean task, when we are en- 
tering upon it, becomes only a background for a pic- 
ture of triumph when it is achieved. It has been said 
“ troubles are usually the brooms and shovels that 
smooth the road to a good man’s fortune, of which he 
little dreams; and many a man curses the rain that 
falls upon his head, and knows not that it brings 
abundance to drive away hunger.” But not the least 
advantage of troubles comes to us after we have passed 
through them. Victory becomes greater when it has 
been achieved through conflict. Indeed, the victory 
is generally measured by the strength of the opposing 
forces. 

The fact just stated, when properly understood, 
should be an encouragement to those who are still 
climbing the mountain. When once the highlands of 
God are reached, and we stand in the atmosphere 
where spiritual vision is unobscured by the dominat- 
ing influence of the flesh, we shall undoubtedly realise 
that our light afflictions are “ but for a moment, and 
work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal 
283 


284 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

weight of glory.” This climax ends with the highest 
possible reach. It goes to the loftiest peak of the 
mountain in our spiritual realm ; but at the beginning 
of the ascent lies the land of affliction, sorrow, 
struggle, and suffering. We must not make the mis- 
take to which Landor refers when he says: 

“We fancy that all our afflictions are sent us di- 
rectly from above ; sometimes we think it in piety and 
contrition, but oftener in moroseness and discontent. 
It would be well, however, if we attempt to trace the 
causes of them; we should probably find their origin 
in some region of the heart which we never had well 
explored, or in which we had secretly deposited our 
worst indulgences. The cloud that intercepts the 
Heavens from us comes not from the Heavens, but 
from the earth.” But no matter whence our troubles 
come, they may work for us blessings, if we use them 
to that end. They may be to us really rounds in the 
ladder which leads up to the final victory. 

Sorrow and care and bitter discord 
Close in a sheaf of dreariness bind, 

Overlook naught of the darksome hoard; 

Gather it all and leave none behind. 

Shoulder it! Carry the burden away 
Out of the valley — too calm and still. 

Clamber and mount by the rough-hewn way, 

Up to the windy crest o’ the hill — 

The crest o’ the hill! 

Stand where the northerly breezes blow, 

Fresh from the forest, and keen to face. 

Cling, as you will, to the cherished woe; 

Here shall it vanish and leave no trace. 

Only a shadow of brave regret — 

Rue for the hours given o’er to ill — 

Tarries and lingers behind it yet, 

Here on the windy crest o’ the hill — 

The crest o’ the hill! 


THE FINAL VICTORY 285 

Welcome the force of the rising gale; 

Sturdily greet it— a comrade strong. 

Breathe in its vigor! With zest inhale! 

Hark to the laugh in its gusty song! 

Then shall you take from the pine-crowned height 
New resolution and clear good will. 

Courage to render the dark days bright, 

Far from the windy crest o’ the hill — 

The crest o’ the hill ! 


However, it is interesting and very striking to fol- 
low, at least, some of the steps by which this ascent is 
made. In Matthew xvi, 24, Jesus says to His Dis- 
ciples “ If any man will come after me, let him deny 
himself, and take up his cross and follow me.” It 
will be noticed that self-denial is the first step in this 
ascent. Nevertheless is not this very generally if not 
universally the last step with most people, if, indeed, 
this step is taken at all? Self-indulgence, if not ac- 
tually taught to our children, is undoubtedly permitted 
by most parents. It will scarcely be questioned that 
the predominant habit of family life, especially in 
America, is to allow children to gratify their desires, 
even when parents know that these desires are not 
best for the children. The influences of fleshly ties 
is so great that self-gratification is come to be a virtue 
instead of a vice, and even where parents are con- 
scious that it is not the way that leads to the highest 
development of character, still they have not the cour- 
age, as a rule, to deny their children scarely anything 
for which these children plead. 

Of course, all this early training distinctly shows 
itself in the subsequent life. These children, when 
they come to be personally responsible for the build- 
ing of character, find themselves enfeebled in their 
moral powers, as well as trammelled by habits which 


286 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 


have practically become second nature. No wonder 
religious development is slow ; no wonder our churches 
make unsatisfactory progress; no wonder that much 
of the world is still lying in wickedness; no wonder 
that millions are still without God and without hope. 
Family life must be the nursery for the state and the 
church. This expresses the law of development; this 
is precisely the order of history. 

The first dispensation was a dispensation of the 
family; the second, a dispensation of the state; the 
third, a dispensation of the church. We are now 
chronologically in the last mentioned, but practically 
we are dominated by the second. Human govern- 
ments are to-day to the front, while the influence of 
the church, in the real sense for which it has been 
ordained, is lightly felt all over the world. Neverthe- 
less, it is true, in most cases at least, that both state 
and church are running far ahead of the family. Even 
the religious teaching of our children is no longer 
regarded as a home duty. These children must go 
to the Sunday School, or else their religious culture is 
neglected entirely. Comparatively speaking there are 
few families who even have family worship, so that 
this important religious service will probably soon be 
a thing of the past, unless there is a decided reaction 
in its favour. 

But, however this may be, one thing is very certain, 
viz., the tendency of modern life is to self-gratifica- 
tion instead of self-denial. The crucifixion of the flesh 
usually costs something. It means self-surrender. It 
means the abandonment of worldly pleasures, and 
suffer, if needs be, for the cause of Christ. It is true 
that there are now in many lands no such trials to en- 
dure as were endured by the early Christians ; and yet 
the tests in our modern life of real character are 


THE FINAL VICTORY 287 

sometimes greater than even those to which the early 
Christians were subjected. 

Nothing is more clearly defined in the teaching of 
Christ than the doctrine of self-denial rather than self- 
gratification. With him the life to live is a life where 
the spiritual dominates the physical and the animal. 
The new man in him, when fully developed, represents 
the ideal of a true manhood. But the self-denial 
which Christ taught is not that of asceticism. He 
recognises that while man is in the flesh, the flesh must 
be reckoned with in all the affairs of this life. Man 
is composed of body, soul and spirit, and as such, all 
these must be properly educated and co-ordinated in 
a normal development. Nevertheless, Christ placed 
the emphasis on the spiritual, and this is just where it 
ought to be placed in order to produce the normal 
development demanded. But the tendency of the pre- 
sent age is to emphasise the indulgence of the flesh. 
Mammon is king in most places. His reign demands 
the most luxurious gratification of self; and if looked 
at simply from the mammon side of the question we 
might lose heart entirely in reference to the final vic- 
tory over evil. 

But there is another side to this question. Notwith- 
standing all the evil that is in the world the good is 
making unmistakable progress. Slowly but surely we 
are going up the mountain. Even self-indulgence is 
being overcome. While the general drift, in many 
places, is in the wrong direction, it is a comforting 
assurance that many noble souls are setting the church 
a splendid example in their self-denying lives. It 
must not be expected that the top of the mountain 
can be reached in a day. But even if this could be, 
weeping would still endure for the night, and the long, 
dark night of Satan’s reign is still filling the world 


288 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

with weeping; but, thank God, the darkness is gradu- 
ally passing away and already “ jocund day is stand- 
ing tiptoe on the mountain top,” and when the morn- 
ing breaks in all its sunlight glory, truly “joy will 
come with it.” 

We have already seen that self-gratification was 
fundamental in the tragical fall of Adam and Eve. 
The animal is always the prime factor in selfishness. 
The Sarkikos Anthropos and Psychikos Anthropos 
must be conquered before it is possible for the Pneu - 
matikos Anthropos to reign supremely in the life of 
the Christian. These three phrases cover the whole 
battleground of the conflict between good and evil. 
Hebrew psychology was perhaps not so philosophically 
defined as that of the Greeks ; nevertheless, it suggests 
a very important fact which may be lost sight of en- 
tirely in the precise definitions of modern times. The 
Hebrew made very little, if any, distinction between 
the living body (physical) and the soul (the animal). 
They used the same words to express both the living 
body and the animal life. Hence when the spiritual 
man was dethroned the body and the soul, or the 
physical and the animal man, went into partnership, 
as has already been stated, and they have steadily co- 
operated in the things of evil ever since their first vic- 
tory was gained over man’s spiritual nature. Accord- 
ing to the Apostle Paul selfishness finds its home with 
these two partners, and consequently it is not remark- 
able that Jesus should have demanded of His Disciples 
that the very first step they should take in the direc- 
tion of spiritual elevation must be the breaking of the 
allegiance of the heart to the unsanctified intellect and 
the corruptions of the body. 

( i ) . Self-denial, therefore, philosophically and scrip- 
turally, stands at the very beginning of the Christian 


THE FINAL VICTORY 


289 

life. It is the first step towards that completeness in 
Christ Jesus which is secured only when we have re- 
nounced the world, the flesh and the Devil ; and when 
our modern professing Christians shall everywhere 
take this important step the conquering of the nations 
for Christ will then be comparatively an easy task. 

(2). The next step in the ascent, is the taking up of 
our cross. This very language is highly suggestive. 
It presents before us a striking picture. We see the 
man who has conquered at self-denial, now standing 
erect, and then stooping down to lay hold of the cross 
which is beneath him. Stooping to conquer is ab- 
solutely essential to win the battle in which we are 
engaged with evil. It seems paradoxical, but it is cer- 
tainly true, that in Christianity we have to go down 
before we can go up. This is clearly the teaching of 
Jesus, and it is also true to our own experience. We 
must first humble ourselves if we would be exalted. 

Christ taught that who, on mountain tops, would go, 

Must first pass through the humble vale below; 

For he who humbles well his stubborn pride, 

Shall be lift up to where great souls abide. 

The little bird, that soars on highest wings, 

Builds low on earth her nest ; the one that sings 
Most sweetly, sings within the shades of night, 

And thrills the darkness with a pure delight. 

And thus the lark and nightingale both teach 
The way, if we would high position reach. 

No one can rise to fill the highest place, 

With whom humility is not a grace; 

Nor can we hope to keep our courage long, 

If only in the light we sing our song * 

Cross bearing is one of the needed virtues in our 
present day Christianity. We are too much inclined 
*At Seventy Five and Other Poems, 


2 9 o SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

to seek for the easy places; to sing our songs only in 
the light; to be religious only where the flesh is 
pampered rather than where it is crucified. We want 
to begin to ascend before we go down, we want 
our resurrection before our death and burial. In 
short too much of our modern Christianity begins 
with the ascension of Christ rather than with His 
death for our sins according to the Scriptures. 
Doubtless we must come both to His resurrection 
and His ascension, but these must not antedate his 
death and burial. We must die to sin, be buried and 
raised again before we have any right to stand on 
Mount Olivet and hope for an ascension. Having 
been raised with Christ, we may then seek those things 
that are above. We must suffer with Christ before 
we can be glorified with Him. The way to the crown 
is by the cross. While every good and perfect gift 
cometh down to us it is equally true that we must 
go down ourselves and take up with us the cross 
before we can meet and retain the blessings which 
come down to us from the Father of lights. "Up” 
and “ down,” in the last analysis, may not have any 
philosophical place in the universe, but they are con- 
venient terms to express certain situations in the 
struggle between good and evil. 

(3). The last requirement which Jesus makes of 
those who desire to be His disciples is that they 
must follow Him. We have already seen that He is 
practically everything in the Christian life. We need 
not therefore emphasise any further the importance 
of the requirements which He makes. We must 
regard the first two steps, already considered, as a 
preparation for the final service which He prescribes. 
Following Him is something more than simply keep- 


THE FINAL VICTORY 


291 

ing His commandments. Doubtless these command- 
ments are most important, and belong to the service 
which He requires at our hands. But it is possible 
to keep these, in some sense at least, without really 
following Him. But to do the latter we must go 
through His experiences, we must suffer as He suf- 
fered, we must be tempted as He was tempted, we 
must go about doing good as He did; in short, we 
must reproduce in our lives the Christ that is in us, 
who is our life, our joy and our salvation. 

We cannot emphasise too strongly the distinction 
made between following Christ and simply keeping 
His commandments. Still, someone may say that 
what He commands us to do is what He did Himself. 
Doubtless this is true in a very large sense, if not in 
everything. But what I mean is, not that we should 
fail to keep His commandments, but that we should 
keep them in the light of His great example. We 
should keep them in the spirit of His spirit. He 
seemed to have only one purpose in view during all 
of His earthly life, and that was to do the will of 
His Father. To follow Him really is to make the 
single purpose of our lives to do His will. We must 
be dominated by this overpowering aim. We must 
be willing to lose our lives if necessary that we may 
gain His life ; empty ourselves of worldliness and 
selfishness that we may make room for Him to dwell 
in us, the hope of glory. This is following Him; 
nothing else is. 

With these conditions fully met, we reach the 
mountain top of holy vision; we see the promised 
land, and already experience some of the 

Joys that await us, when freed from probation, 

In yon blissful region, the eden of love. 


292 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

But in making this ascent we must not fail to re- 
member that Christ is our real strength. We can do 
all things through Him, but without Him we can do 
nothing. We have already seen that His position, 
with respect to our final triumph, is very unique. It 
may be well for us to go back to the “ beginning ” 
again. In two great crises of the past the Devil was 
partially, temporarily victorious. He succeeded in 
bringing darkness and disorder into the physical 
earth ; and then when the earth was reorganised and 
man placed upon it, the next attack was upon man 
himself, which attack was successful, so far as to 
bring darkness and disorder into the moral world. 
The third and greatest attack of all was made when 
the Devil tempted Christ in the wilderness. Christ 
was the “ Coming One ” who was to bruise the ser- 
pent’s head. This fact was well known to the Ad- 
versary, and consequently the issues of that awful 
contest in the wilderness were greater than any that 
had ever before been involved in the history of the 
earth. If the Devil had been successful in his tempta- 
tion of Jesus all hope of the human race would have 
vanished, and darkness, confusion and death would 
have reigned forever upon this earth. It was a 
great crisis, and our Divine Lord met it with the 
only instrumentality that could have been suc- 
cessful. 

The temptation of Adam and Eve was in many re- 
spects similar in method to that of Christ. In both 
cases the success or failure depended upon obeying 
or rejecting the Word of God. God had told Adam 
and Eve what to do and what not to do. They at 
first parleyed with the Divine commandment, and then 
yielded to the seduction of the Evil One. Jesus never 
parleyed for a moment. Just as soon as the tempter 


THE FINAL VICTORY 


293 

began His dangerous work Jesus began to quote 
Scripture as the only means by which He could over- 
come; and this fact is very significant. It looks as 
if Jesus meant to show the world that the means which 
Adam and Eve had in their possession were quite 
adequate to foil the tempter if they had used these 
means vigorously and without parley in the hour 
of their trial. It is significant that neither in the 
garden of Eden nor in the wilderness is there any 
intimation of special Divine help except what resided 
in the Word of God; but this was available in both 
cases, and in the latter case it was eminently success- 
ful; so that the overthrow of Satan in the wilderness 
was not only a great fact, with far-reaching influ- 
ences, but the way this overthrow was achieved may 
be regarded as almost equally important, as showing 
the efficiency of the Word of God to sustain us when- 
ever and wherever its admonitions are faithfully 
heeded. 

But the particular point which I wish just now to 
emphasise is the turning point in human history 
which dates from the conflict in the wilderness, not 
from the Nativity as some have supposed. Jesus 
had to demonstrate His ability to deal successfully 
with the Evil One before He could inspire confidence 
in humanity, and thereby lead the race to the moun- 
tain top to which attention has already been called. 
By fighting the battle alone, with simply the Word of 
God to support Him, He demonstrated to the whole 
human race that He came not only to destroy the 
works of the Devil, but He can also lift all, who will 
deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Him, 
into the spiritual realm where, through newness of 
life in Him and constant contact with Him, they can 
meet all the darts of the Evil One and finally triumph 


294 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

through Him who has loved them and given Himself 
for them. 

A little further consideration of the temptation in 
the wilderness may throw additional light upon the 
problem now before us. It is certainly very signifi- 
cant that Angels did not come and minister to Christ 
until the temptation was past. This fact harmonises 
exactly with what has been said concerning the help 
which Christ received during the contest. The Word 
of God was His only reliance during the temptation, 
but as soon as the tempter fled Angels came and 
ministered to Him. It is also very suggestive that 
the Devil’s departure from Him was only “ for a sea- 
son.” Luke says that “when the Devil had com- 
pleted every temptation he departed from Him for 
a season.” Nor was this “ season ” very long. Soon 
we find the whole demon world stirred to its founda- 
tion in opposing the works of Christ; nor did this 
opposition cease until Jesus was crucified and buried. 
During His earthly life Jesus had thrown Himself 
across the evil tendencies of the age and had opposed 
with great earnestness the influence of Satan, and 
thereby essayed to stop the current of wickedness 
which at that time was rapidly bearing the world down 
to eternal ruin. In this fearful struggle He fell. He 
lost His life in attempting to save others. 

This was Evil’s triumph. To human eyes it looked 
as if all was lost; and methinks, if there ever was a 
time when demons held a jubilee in Pandemonium, 
that time was while Jesus of Nazareth was in the tomb 
of Joseph of Arimathaea. 

But this was only a temporary triumph. Like 
Sampson, Jesus was shorn of His locks that He might 
the more certainly destroy the Dagon of sin; for at 
the very hour when “ hell’s exulting host ” supposed 


THE FINAL VICTORY 


295 

their victory complete, then He arose. He burst the 
bars of death and triumphed over the grave. In His 
weakness He was admitted to the pillars of Satan’s 
temple, and now in His weakness He was made 
strong, and was enabled to overthrow the temple, 
break the power of death, and bring “life and im- 
mortality to light through the Gospel.” 

This was good’s triumph. But the victory was 
not yet complete. Foiled in his attempts to destroy 
the Prince of Peace and the hope of the human race, 
Satan, from that hour, began an uncompromising 
warfare on the Church which that Prince had founded. 
Through long and weary years this conflict has raged 
with varying fortunes for either side. Sometimes 
the friends of Christ and good are greatly discour- 
aged and cast down. They are almost ready to say 
“the night has come when no man can work.” But 
now again the light breaks across the future; hope 
lifts up the drooping spirits; and as the song of the 
one hundred and forty and four thousand, who have 
come up through great tribulation and washed their 
robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb, 
falls on the ear from the heights of apocalyptic 
vision, the cheering assurance comes to every Chris- 
tian heart that we shall, after all, finally conquer 
“ through Him who has loved us and given Himself 
for us.” * 

A few facts with respect to the present outlook 
will help to emphasise the blessed assurance of this 
final triumph. 

In the first place there has been, upon the whole, 
a decided gain in human progress since the coming 
of Christ. It is freely admitted that there have been 
fearful lapses even in the Church itself. For a time 
* See “ Views of Life,” by Arthur. Pages 134-136. 


296 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

it was in the wilderness, and was tempted of the Devil 
like its great head. Many went into the Apostasy, 
and for a long period the sombre night shade of that 
imperious religious despotism obscured the rays of the 
Sun of Righteousness. But the Lutheran reforma- 
tion began to dissipate the darkness of evil which 
had reigned through the long period of chaos. It 
was the voice of God crying again, “ let there be 
light.” Only a few years ago, comparatively speak- 
ing, the temporal power of the Pope was completely 
broken, and now at the beginning of this new century 
religious liberty is rapidly dawning everywhere upon 
the nations. Even France, whose sword for many 
years upheld the temporal power of the Pope, has 
at last wheeled into line and is marching with modern 
civilisation towards the goal of religious freedom. 

Meantime sectarianism is breaking up all over the 
world. The spirit of Christian union is in the air 
everywhere. The old creeds have lost their power. 
The recent great Ecumenical Council held in New 
York on Federation may not have indicated an ideal 
platform for Christian union, but it certainly was a 
distinct and encouraging fact in the direction of such 
an ideal. It was a step in the right direction. It was 
a promise of better days to come. It was a clear, 
ringing note, saying that the prayer of Jesus, that His 
Disciples might be one, is receiving emphatic realisa- 
tion at the beginning of this new century. 

Doubtless there will be drawbacks, and even fail- 
ures. The Devil has not yet given up the fight. 
The unsanctified intellect is still seeking unlimited 
dominion. It is still aiming at supremacy. Ration- 
alism in some places is taking the place of sectarian- 
ism, for the Devil knows how to change his tactics 
as opportunities present themselves. His old weap- 


THE FINAL VICTORY 


297 

ons will not avail much longer. Neither despotism 
in church or state can succeed in these days. The 
heart is coming into power. Even the followers of 
Mammon are to some extent influenced by the rising 
tide of noble needs, and consequently wealth, that 
was once squandered on the lusts of the eye, the lusts 
of the flesh and the pride of life, is now contributed 
to worthy purposes, being used in the best interests 
of mankind. It is not doubted that commercialism 
just now is holding a wide, imperial sway. But no 
one who reads the signs of the times aright can fail 
to see that there is a spirit in the air which is holding 
in check even the evils of commercialism and com- 
pelling the votaries thereof to disgorge their ill- 
gotten gains in the interests of human progress. Nor 
can it be doubted that the tendency just now is to 
heavily discount the man who lives simply for the 
accumulation of wealth. 

But we may expect some drawbacks. The whole 
course of human history has been marked by periods 
of failure on the side of the good. But it still remains 
true that 


Truth crushed to earth will rise again, 

The eternal years of God are hers; 

While error wounded writhes in pain, 

And dies among his worshipers. 

Were it necessary a thousand things could be * 
referred to as evidence of the tendency which we are 
illustrating. Science itself, which for a time threat- 
ened eternal enmity to Christianity, has now practi- 
cally ceased its opposition in all countries where true 
Christianity finds an abiding place. This is just 
what must come about before the final victory for 
good is achieved. There must come a harmony be- 


298 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

tween man’s intellectual nature and his spiritual na- 
ture. When the conflict between these shall cease, 
then will their united efforts be exerted in the interests 
of human progress. This day is probably not far dis- 
tant. God is light as well as love, and the harmony 
of light and love will bring the intellect and the heart 
into complete and active co-operation in all the affairs 
of this life. 

Of course there will be those who may still take 
a pessimistic view of the future. They seek to trouble 
us by all kinds of curious questions; but these ques- 
tions only show the weakening of the forces of evil. 
God does not kill the Devil because He cannot do it 
in harmony with the laws of the universe, as has al- 
ready been intimated, but He can restrain the Devil’s 
influence, and finally overcome that influence com- 
pletely, by giving the good a fair chance in the affairs 
of the world. By leaving the two in hostile conflict, 
the ultimate victory for good is just as certain as that 
good is superior to evil. This conflict will leave to 
man his freedom of choice as a legacy which is abso- 
lutely necessary in order that he may be worth saving 
at all. When Christ is in us and we in Him we can 
then resist the Devil and he will flee from us, and this 
fact assures the victory over evil for all Christ’s disci- 
ples, however long that victory may be deferred. The 
contest is one in which the forces at work are in har- 
mony with the laws of our being and the universe of 
which we are a part. Our main strength is in the 
strategic position which we should occupy. We may be 
captured at the Devil’s will when we are outside of 
Christ . But of those who are in Christ Jesus, who is 
their wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and re- 
demption, it may be truly said that they are safe 
against all the attacks of the Devil as long as they 


THE FINAL VICTORY 299 

keep within the enclosure where they are fortified by 
the power of Christ’s life and His victory over evil. 

But we must not be satisfied with safety for our- 
selves. This would be the quintessence of selfishness, 
the very thing that is necessary to surrender in order 
that we may win the world for Christ. It is true that 
Christ’s disciples must possess the advantageous po- 
sition, to which attention has been called, before they 
can be “ strong in the Lord and in the power of His 
might ” to do the work which has been committed 
to their hands. We must not forget that we are fight- 
ing against principalities and powers, against spirit- 
ual wickedness in high places, etc., and that the weap- 
ons of our warfare are not carnal but spiritual, not 
physical, nor even intellectual, if confined solely to 
that part of man. We have already seen that the 
heart is the starting point in the development of the 
new man in Christ Jesus, and, consequently, while 
faith, hope and love are all involved in the contest 
with evil, it is eminently true that the greatest of 
these is love, because it brings the heart again into 
the regal authority from which it has been so long 
expelled by the overpowering influence of the head. 

It is perhaps impossible to overestimate the im- 
portance of the fact just stated. From this point of 
view a thousand things are easily explained which 
otherwise would remain a mystery. It has already 
been intimated that the power of evil must be over- 
come by spiritual means, not by physical, nor even 
by intellectual, unless these are subordinated to the 
reign of the spiritual. But the restoration of spiritual 
authority, specially in harmony with the physical and 
intellectual, requires time. Over four thousand years 
of struggle were necessary to prepare the race for 
the change which came with Christ Jesus our Lord. 


3 oo SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

His was indeed a new Gospel, but it was a Gospel 
which had been adumbrated in all the types and shad- 
ows of previous dispensations. These dispensations 
were preparatory, and even the mission of John the 
Baptist was a voice in the wilderness crying “ prepare 
ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.” 
Nothing was forced in this preparation for the com- 
ing Prince. There was no hurry. God is never in a 
hurry. One day with Him is as a thousand years, and 
a thousand years as one day. His steps are across 
the centuries. He works in harmony with the laws 
He has made, and in the case of redemption it would 
have been impossible for God Himself to have ac- 
complished His purposes without waiting on the ages. 
Consequently the Old Testament periods of direct 
communication with God and the reign of law, in 
order to prepare the world for the reception of the 
personal reign of our Lord Jesus Christ, were neces- 
sary as forerunners of the Christian dispensation. But 
even under Christ’s reign there is no departure from 
the general principle which has governed always in 
the development of the scheme of redemption through 
all dispensations. We must still wait on the influence 
of spiritual forces. The great advantage, however, 
to the friends of God, in the battle which now rages, 
is that of having the intellect and the body working 
in harmony with the heart wherever these have been 
thoroughly reconciled to one another. This recon- 
ciliation can come about only when men are recon- 
ciled to God, and this cannot be accomplished except 
through the word of reconciliation which is the Gos- 
pel of Jesus Christ. 

From the high promontory which we have now 
reached we can survey the whole promised land which 
lies before us, much of which, however, must yet be 


THE FINAL VICTORY 


301 


gained by conquest. The army of the Lord is com- 
posed of His saints, and these are just now showing 
unusual activity in taking the world for their great 
leader. Foreign missions are only a little over one 
hundred years old, and yet under their influence 
nearly the whole of heathendom is practically giving 
way before the vigorous onslaught of the Gospel of 
Christ. 

It is not necessary to burden these pages with statis- 
tics. Every one knows that what I have stated is 
true. The stately steps of our Divine Lord were 
never more distinctly seen than at the present time. 
The whole heathen world is more or less feeling the 
impulse of His influence. Foreign missions are no 
longer an experiment. They must be reckoned with 
in all of the estimates of modern progress. 

It is also a marked feature of present day develop- 
ment, as well as a clear indication of the final victory 
over evil, that the nations of the earth are coming 
closer together. War is still a fearful fact, but it is 
becoming less and less a possibility. Universal peace 
may not come within the near future; but evidently 
wars must cease at no very distant day. There are 
evidences throughout the whole civilised world that 
the prophetic period of a millennium may be realised 
even before the close of the present century. 

But let no one make a mistake as to the character 
of the coming victory over evil. Doubtless this vic- 
tory will end in a unity of the head and the heart, a 
certain unity of languages, a unity of nationalities, 
and a unity of religions; but this unity must not be 
regarded as the end of individuality. Universality 
really comes out of uniqueness. Jesus was the most 
universal character in human history ; and yet His uni- 
versality depended upon His uniqueness or individual- 


302 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

ity. Had He not possessed the latter He could never 
have been the former. If He had not been different 
from every other person who ever visited this earth, 
He could not have met the universal needs of man- 
kind. The same is true of every other great character. 
Men are great because they are universal, but they are 
universal because they are unique. We speak of the 
comradeship of Christ because He touches all our needs 
and sympathies, but He could never be the merciful 
high priest that He is had He not been in His own 
personality distinctly separate from all the people He 
came to save. He is broad because he was, in a cer- 
tain sense, first narrow; He is universal because He 
first stood alone as the incomparable character in in- 
dividuality. 

This is true of other great characters to a limited 
extent, and this limitation is always bounded by their 
own uniqueness. Indeed, this is so much the case that 
no one can approach universality who is not great in 
individuality. Shakespeare is the universal poet be- 
cause of his emphatic individuality. He differs from 
all other poets, and in this very difference is found 
his universality. He speaks to all classes in their own 
language, because he had within himself the elements 
of a universal experience. 

The Apostle Paul’s greatness is seen in his wide 
sympathies, his almost marvellous toleration, and his 
lofty conception of the relations of man to man; at 
the same time he could not have manifested these char- 
acteristics had he not possessed qualities within him- 
self out of which these characteristics could shine. A 
little, or base man could not have been what the 
Apostle was. Littleness tends to littleness, baseness 
to baseness, “ Everything shall produce after its 
kind.” 


THE FINAL VICTORY 


303 

Paul’s universality showed itself in his ability to 
“ become all things to all men that by all means he 
might save some,” and his uniqueness was equally 
manifested in his remaining distinctly a Hebrew, not- 
withstanding his magnificent universality. He was a 
Roman citizen when it suited his purpose to be such, 
and he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews when it was 
necessary for him to affirm his origin. His becoming 
a Christian did not destroy his nationality, nor even 
the freedom which was vouchsafed to him by virtue 
of his being born free as a Roman citizen. Christian- 
ity taught him how to subordinate and co-ordinate all 
these special things in the interests of a broad liberal- 
ity, which was necessary in order to carry out success- 
fully his mission to the Gentiles. Indeed, his unique 
character distinctly emphasises the particular point I 
am now making, and it may have been one of the very 
reasons why he was selected as the Apostle to the 
Gentiles. If he had not been a Hebrew of the 
Hebrews and a Pharisee of the Pharisees, he probably 
could not have done the great work among the Gen- 
tiles which was necessary to be done in order that the 
Gospel might find hospitality among all the nations 
of the earth. If he had been willing to become all 
things to all men that by all means he might be noth- 
ing , his whole mission would undoubtedly have been 
a failure. It was just because he was so strong in 
his own individuality, so prejudiced, in a certain sense, 
with respect to the uniqueness of his relationship as to 
blood and privilege, that he was able to rise up to the 
heights of an almost divine universality. Paul was 
first great in himself, and this very fact enabled him 
to recognise greatness in others. When a man’s 
personal vision is limited he can scarcely become 
liberal, for an eye which sees clearly and over a vast 


3 04 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

horizon must first of all be strong in itself, or have 
what we call capacity for vision. This the Apostle 
possessed in a remarkable degree, and consequently 
he was able to manifest the universality which char- 
acterised his mission to the Gentiles. Little souls can 
never command a wide horizon, or be eminent for 
broad and generous deeds. 

All this will help us to see that the coming reign of 
unity will not destroy individuality, nor will it annihi- 
late legitimate difference. The head will not become 
the heart, nor the heart the head, because they are 
reconciled to each other, and each henceforth shall 
occupy its normal position. The animal man will still 
be associated with the spiritual man, though they will 
no longer be in antagonism; for they will now co- 
operate with each other in the fulfillment of God’s pur- 
poses in man. Neither will science cease to be science, 
nor religion cease to be religion, because the conflict 
between them is terminated in an honourable peace. 
Nor again will man cease to be man, nor God cease to 
be God simply because they are reconciled to each 
other. The Jew will continue to be a Jew; the Greek 
will continue to be a Greek ; the bond will continue to 
be the bond ; the free will continue to be the free ; the 
male will continue to be the male; the female will 
continue to be the female; even though they are all 
one in Christ Jesus. Legitimate difference is not de- 
stroyed by “ the unity of the spirit in the bond 
of peace.” Universality does not destroy indi- 
viduality. 

Paul’s picture of the human body, as illustrating the 
body of Christ, still further emphasises the fact we 
are now considering. While there should be perfect 
unity in the body among all the members, every mem- 
ber is distinctly differentiated and held to perform its 


THE FINAL VICTORY 


305 

proper function; and in no other way can the unity 
of the body be maintained. The hand is still the hand, 
the foot still the foot, but they must work together to 
maintain the unity of all the members of the one body. 
When Jesus prayed that His Disciples might be one, 
as He and His Father are one, He did not mean that 
the individuality of these disciples should be destroyed, 
but rather that this individuality should rise to the 
heights of a oneness similar to that which exists be- 
tween Jesus and His Father. 

From these considerations it is evident that we must 
distinguish sharply between unity and uniformity. 
Unity is possible only in variety, and we see this 
variety stamped upon all the works of nature, as well 
as recognised in all the teaching of the Bible. All 
harmony is in difference, but this difference must be in 
the right place , or else it will produce discord. We 
have already seen that evil is difference in the wrong 
place; it is a perversion or a violation of the law of 
God; it is a distinct and emphatic opposition to the 
divine will. The result is lawlessness, or the evolu- 
tion of that which ought not to he, while good is dif- 
ference in the right place, and is therefore the evolu- 
tion of that which ought to he. One produces discord, 
the other produces harmony. 

In these facts we have a suggestion as to the char- 
acter of the coming state of society wherein the victory 
of good over evil will be manifest. Let no one sup- 
pose that a united Christendom can ever be realised by 
suppressing all difference of opinion, or all social dis- 
tinctions. These differences must exist and will exist 
just as certainly as that Christianity does not destroy 
the actual relation between Jew and Greek, bond and 
free, male and female, but it so subordinates and co- 
ordinates these differences as to make them contribute 


306 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

to a universal unity. A church where these differences 
do not exist would be even worse perhaps than where 
they are emphasised out of all proportion. The word 
“ toleration ” is not exactly the word that expresses 
best the idea I am now accentuating, but this word will 
help us to understand what we may reasonably expect 
in the church of the future. Undoubtedly it will not 
be a church characterised by sameness. No dead level 
life will be manifested. There will be in it the tolera- 
ation of individual opinions, but these opinions will 
not be made tests of fellowship. Philosophical differ- 
ences will no doubt exist, but these differences must 
not be elevated into standards of faith. The Church, 
which will exemplify the period of victory over evil, 
will be a church where freedom of opinion will be 
tolerated without antagonism, and where racial, social 
and family differences will have the freest possible 
play but without detriment to the one universal 
brotherhood. 

The same is true of nations. It is probable that any 
consideration of the nations are states, so as to oblit- 
erate entirely national lines and characteristics, is only 
a dream. But the subordination and co-ordination of 
nations and states in a universal statehood may soon 
be a fact in the experience of mankind, for the king- 
doms of this world must become the kingdom of our 
Lord and His Christ. The destruction of all difference 
in our social life, or in the accumulation of wealth, 
must be regarded as a “ hope deferred ” and will con- 
tinue to “ make the heart sick ” ; as it is a hope that 
will never come to “ glad fruition,” for the reason 
that these differences must exist even to the end. But 
what must come to pass is that these differences, in- 
stead of hindering human progress, will contribute to 
that progress, because they will be harmonised in that 


THE FINAL VICTORY 


307 

universal brotherhood which is the goal to which all 
things are tending. 

Having before us at least some of the results of the 
conflict between good and evil, we are now prepared 
to take another step further as to the final issue of the 
great struggle. The Apostle Paul, in the 15th chapter 
of first Cor., declares that Christ shall reign until all 
His enemies are put under His feet, and that the last 
enemy to be destroyed is death. This fact emphasises 
one of the main features of Christ’s mission to the 
world. We have already seen that He came to destroy 
the works of the Devil. We have also seen that these 
works have been gradually breaking down under the 
influence of Christ’s beneficent reign. In our survey 
we have reached the final issue, the conflict at death, 
and we are assured by the language of the Apostle 
that Christ shall conquer it also. 

This is a great fact. Everything depends upon it. 
If death is to be an eternal sleep, then surely it may 
be questioned whether the present life is worth living ; 
but if death is to be destroyed, then undoubtedly the 
friction of the present conflict may all tend to make 
the final victory more glorious. Surely nothing could 
be more inspiring to the suffering Christian than to 
be assured that at the end of the present struggle he 
will be able to go “ through the valley of the shadow 
of death and fear no evil,” for the reason that the rod 
and staff of Him who is the resurrection and the life 
will be with him and comfort him. When our Divine 
Lord said to Peter that the gates of hell should not 
prevail against His church, He gave a distinct and 
emphatic intimation that the gates of the grave, or the 
under world, should not hold His Disciples, but that 
they, while passing through the valley of the shadow 
of death, should not themselves experience death, at 


3 o8 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

any rate, should not experience its sting, since this 
had been taken away by Christ’s death and resur- 
rection. 

At the beginning of the 15th chapter of first Cor., 
the Apostle speaks of some of the brethren who had 
“ fallen asleep,” thereby indicating that death was re- 
garded by Him as simply a sleep. This, indeed, was 
the view generally taken of death among the earliest 
disciples. They everywhere proclaimed that the 
dominion of death had been destroyed, and that “ life 
and immortality had been brought to light through 
the Gospel.” 

But some will say that these enthusiastic disciples 
were, after all, mistaken. Death still has its terrors, 
and it still exists. But this is not true of death, so far 
as the Christian is concerned; that is of the Christian 
who is possessed of an all-conquering faith. It is 
perhaps true, among many mere formal Christians, 
that death is not only an abiding shadow, but a con- 
stant terror. But this should not be the case with 
those who earnestly believe that Jesus died and rose 
again; for all such should believe also that those who 
sleep in Jesus, God will raise again. From the Chris- 
tian point of view death now is only the vestibule to 
that house not made with hands eternal in the Heavens. 
It is simply to him 

The gloomy night 

Whose shadows fall across life’s way, 

The lifting which reveals the light 
Which ushers in eternal day. 

But this is not all. Christ not only destroys the works 
of the Devil and abolishes death for His disciples, 
but He provides for them an eternal abiding place, 
where the “ wicked cease from troubling and where 
the weary are at rest.” One of the most pathetic in- 


THE FINAL VICTORY 


309 

terviews, which Christ had with His Disciples, while 
He was here on earth, was that which had respect to 
this provision for them in the future life. He had 
intimated to them that He was going away to leave 
them, and their hearts were sad on this account. When 
He perceived this, He said: 

“ Let not your hearts be troubled, ye believe in God 
believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many 
mansions. If it were not so I would have told you. 
I go to prepare a place for you.” 

This last sentence was the keynote of the comfort 
which He had to offer them. He could not remain 
with them always. He was here for a special pur- 
pose. The work committed to His hands would soon 
be finished, and then He would take His departure. It 
was a sweet benediction to the stricken hearts, looking 
up into His face. He assured them that His going 
away meant their final good. While He would send 
the Comforter to abide with them, He Himself would 
come again, and take them to the place which He 
would prepare for them during His absence. 

Now when “ death is swallowed up in victory,” the 
next step of His faithful disciples will be into that 
abiding place which He has prepared for them. This 
will not only end the weary struggle with evil, but 
will bring His disciples into that “ rest which remains 
for the people of God.” Surely this will be a happy 
ending of the conflict of ages. With this cheerful 
prospect before us, the faithful may truly sing : 

When all this conflict, raging now, shall cease; 

When Faith and Hope and Love shall triumph o’er 
Their opposites of unbelief, Despair 
And Hate, then will the present earth give place 
To those bright Mansions in the heav’ns above. 

Which Christ has for His faithful ones prepared, 

And in the which His precious smile shall drive 
Away the gloomy shadows of the past. 


310 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

No strife, no pain, no death shall enter there. 

Dashed on the shores of earth, all troubled waves 
Into bright foam shall break long time before 
They reach the home where saints abide in peace. 

These saints, secure beyond the swelling flood, 

And we, like them, shall evermore be safe 
Be strong, and patient, in our fight with sin, 

Then soon the vict’ry will be ours as theirs, 

Are beck’ning now to us and bidding us 
At God’s right hand where troubles never come. 

And now, sad heart, look up! be brave and trust! 

The shadows do already flee away 
Before the rising Sun of Righteousness, 

Whose light doth cheer our struggling souls and points 
The way that leads to everlasting rest. 

Thus will the long, destructive conflict end; 

And when the final victory is won, 

This conflict will the background be, on which 

The picture of eternal life sh&ll come 

To light, and show how God, through all the past, 

Has used the evil, in the world, for good, 

And all things brought to universal peace. 

It remains to notice only three things with respect 
to the consummation of the struggle which has been 
under consideration. Some may question the fact 
that the last enemy — death — has really been destroyed, 
since all have to pass through death, notwithstanding 
Christ’s resurrection from the dead. But if life is cor- 
respondence with our normal environment, and death 
is the breaking of this correspondence, it will readily 
be seen that physical death is a gradual process. One 
by one the senses cease to correspond with the environ- 
ment in which we live. If we lose one of the senses, 
we are to that extent dead, though this loss may be 
partially compensated for by the use of some other 
sense or senses. Nevertheless, it is impossible for 
this compensation to completely take the place of that 
which is lost. This fact may be illustrated in another 


THE FINAL VICTORY 31 1 

way. If one of the strings of a violin is broken, it is 
possible to use another string so as to partially take 
the place of the one that is broken. It is even possible 
to reduce the strings to one, and still make a certain 
kind of music, but the range must now be limited and 
the living power of the instrument is practically de- 
stroyed, and when all the strings are broken, then the 
violin is worthless for any kind of music, and is, so 
far as music is concerned, practically dead. However, 
it is still a violin and the instrument itself has not 
changed, while a new set of strings may add to it a 
new power which it did not possess with the strings 
which were formerly used. Death does not destroy 
personal identity, though one by one the strings upon 
which we play the music of the present life are broken 
until all are broken ; but throughout this whole change 
personal identity is maintained, and on the other side 
of death a new set of strings will be furnished to the 
spiritual body on which a new and better music will 
be made where discords will no longer play the impor- 
tant part which they now do in the music of the 
present life. 

It is true that we all have to pass through the valley 
of the shadow of death, but what is meant by Christ’s 
destroying death is that He has taken away its sting 
and robbed the grave of its victory. In an important 
sense spiritual life is largely augmented by this change. 
We see this often exemplified even before we enter the 
dark valley. As the natural body, as Paul calls it, 
loses its correspondence with its physical environment, 
in much the same ratio are spiritual perceptions and 
enjoyments intensified. Losing our hold upon the 
present world, we begin to realise something of the 
joys that await us, and the delights of the things that 
God has in reservation for those that love Him. 


312 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

pleasures which are denied the young. The best fruit 
becomes mellow as it ripens, and so it should be with 
human life. A ripe old age should mellow into the 
sweetness which comes from intimate association with 
the powers of the world to come, and all these intima- 
tions of the soul’s immortality are compensations for 
the loss sustained in failing to keep in correspondence 
with our natural environment. But in harmony with 
what we have already seen, as a law which everywhere 
prevails, death itself becomes remedial in the process 
of God’s evolution, which is only another name for 
God’s providence. The new life of the springtime is 
all the more beautiful because it has passed through 
the dead season of winter. Every new leaf and flower 
and grain is a proof that the dead season contributes 
to the new life which everywhere now reigns. 

This brings us to another statement of the Apostle 
Paul in the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians. This state- 
ment is that the body which is raised is not the same 
body that is buried, any more than the new wheat 
which comes up out of the old grain is really the old 
grain. Of course, in one sense it is the old grain, and 
yet in another it is another grain. It is the old grain 
in kind, preserving the old identity of the individual 
just as the spiritual body is still the same body in an 
important sense, and yet not the same body in another 
important sense. The body which is raised is not the 
same body which is buried, and yet it is the same. 
“ It is sown in corruption ; it is raised in incorruption.” 
The germ of the old body is retained just as the germ 
of wheat comes out of the death of the old grain, for 
“ that which thou soweth is not quickened except it 
die.” In this statement of the Apostle there is the 
same encouragement which has already been indicated 
as belonging to all the dark side of the struggle which 


THE FINAL VICTORY 313 

In the light of this great fact, old age should have 
has come down through the ages. Death, in the sense 
in which the Apostle uses the term, is absolutely neces- 
sary in order to the quickening into the life which 
ushers us into the spiritual realm. It is a part of the 
evolutionary process ; it belongs to the law of develop- 
ment ; it is at the end of the road to which all the con- 
flicts of the past have been converging, and through 
which we must finally pass in order to enter that 
“ House not made with hands eternal in the Heavens.” 

It seems to me that this view of death and the resur- 
rection suggests a very important matter with respect 
to the future life. First of all the present life will be 
the background of the future life, and will never be 
entirely obliterated. We carry with us in the resurrec- 
tion something of the body which now is, and asso- 
ciated with this something which forms the basis of 
the spiritual body will be all the memories of the past. 
I cannot conceive of a happy future life that would cut 
us off entirely from the life that now is. This life 
must be continued, and therefore personal identity 
and memory must be indestructible. That these are 
indestructible may be proved from many passages of 
scripture. The case of the rich man and Lazarus 
clearly and unmistakably emphasises the fact that per- 
sonal identity is maintained in the life after death, and 
also that memory is maintained. The rich man knew 
Lazarus and knew also Abraham, and he was told to 
“ remember ” that he in his lifetime had had his good 
things, while Lazarus had his evil things. 

One thing, however, is a gracious benediction to 
those who are living on this side of death. It is not 
said that Lazarus remembered the rich man. While 
the sight of Heaven may always be one of the torments 
of the wicked, it is probably true that the righteous 


314 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

will in no way be troubled by the sight of perdition. 
Fleshly ties are all broken at death, and therefore the 
influence of flesh will not disturb the spiritual enjoy- 
ments of the heavenly life, even if some of our present 
loved ones are not among the glorified who are per- 
mitted to sing the song of redemption. 

Another striking fact is worthy of consideration. 
Though we pass through death to another sphere of 
existence, we shall, nevertheless, continue our per- 
sonal influence in this world whatever that influence 
may have been. Influence is immortal. Truly has the 
Psalmist said “ The righteous shall be an everlasting 
remembrance.” Shakespeare has said, 

The evil that men do lives after them, 

The good is oft interred with their bones. 

This latter quotation is true only when wisely quali- 
fied. No evil will live permanently, though the evil 
that men do, usually lives for some time after they 
have passed away; but it may be questioned whether 
the good is ever interred with their bones. Good is 
indestructible. Longfellow’s “ Psalm of Life ” ex- 
presses the truth more decidedly than Shakespeare has 
done. The “ footprints ” which great men leave on 
“ the sands of time ” are indelibly printed there, and 
every “ forlorn shipwrecked brother ” seeing these, 
“ may take heart again.” Was the good that was done 
by George Washington buried with his bones? Is not 
the memory of his good deeds still a precious legacy 
to the American people? Jesus Christ “ went about 
doing good,” and these good deeds of His still connect 
Him with indestructible cords to this earth-life. It is 
one of the precious things about the four Gospels that 
they give a picture of the Son of God in His earthly 
ministrations of good deeds, and these good deeds 


THE FINAL VICTORY 315 

will live here as long as time endures. It was, perhaps, 
part of the divine plan of the incarnation to connect 
God with the present life in a way that was not possi- 
ble except by assuming human flesh and living here 
among men in many respects just as men live. But, 
however this may be, it is certain that though Christ 
has passed out of sight into the spiritual sphere, He 
still lives in this world in His own Personal deeds, as 
well as in the lives of His followers. 

Let it then be emphasised that the resurrection into 
a new life with a new body does not destroy our 
identity, or our recollections of the old life; nor does 
it destroy the influence we have exerted while living 
in this world. Both of these will remain intact; and 
thus the future life will have behind it the present 
life, and though this may be somewhat dark, this back- 
ground will all the more distinctly show off the great 
picture of the future life which God has been painting 
through us during the conflict of ages. When this 
great consummation has been reached, it will then be 
seen that the different elements, entering into the 
great conflict between good and evil, will, like the 
different rays of light, blend into beautiful harmony, 
and thereby reveal the infinite love of the great father 
in making “ all things work together for good to 
them that love Him.” 

Finally, it is worth while to contemplate the outcome 
of the struggle as it will terminate in the “ abiding 
places ” which our Lord is preparing for His faithful 
disciples. It is certainly a comforting outlook to 
remember that while we are being prepared for the 
eternal mansions, these mansions are, at the same 
time, being prepared for us. Christ told His disciples 
that while he was absent from them he would prepare 
mansions for them, and that he would “ come again 


3 i6 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

and receive them unto Himself, that where He is, 
they should be also.” 

It is not necessary here to discuss the exact location 
of these mansions.* The fact that they are being pre- 
pared and that Christ’s faithful disciples are to dwell 
in them is all that needs to be stated now, though there 
are several very interesting questions suggested at 
this point, a few of which cannot be passed over with- 
out a reference to them. 

First of all, it is well to remember that, from a 
moral point of view, we must judge of the processes 
of evolution by the end in view, or the terminus ad 
quem. What if we can see no further than the con- 
summation of the struggle between good and evil in 
the mansions prepared for the Disciples of Christ? 
Would not this beatific vision, even now largely justify 
the sacrifices, sorrows and crosses of the present little 
while? But this is not all of the joy vouchsafed to the 
faithful followers of Christ? He is to be with them 
in these mansions, and surely nothing is better calcu- 
lated to enhance the enjoyment of Heaven more than 
the fact of the personal fellowship of Christ and asso- 
ciation with Him forever. The Apostle, John, inti- 
mates that this is the consummation of the love which 
the Father hath bestowed upon us, viz., that, when 
Christ shall appear, or when He shall return to take 
His disciples into the mansions prepared for them, 
“ we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” 
In order to be like him, we must suffer as He has 
suffered ; we must cultivate the graces which He mani- 
fested; and it is impossible to understand how these 

* Should any reader wish to pursue this investigation by 
the lights of science and revelation available, he may consult 
the Author’s recent work entitled “ Man Preparing for Other 
Worlds” (Christian Pub. Co., St. Louis, Mo.). 


THE FINAL VICTORY 


3i7 


graces could be cultivated without the very conflict 
through which the saints of God have to pass during 
this earthly life. 

Nor can we see Him as He is, unless we are like 
Him. This makes the training here absolutely neces- 
sary in order to the beatific vision we shall have of 
Him when the struggle is ended. Our eyes will not 
behold Him as He is unless we are like Him. So that 
a Christlike character is essential to a vision of Christ 
as He is in His glory. We see Him now through im- 
perfect eyes, but when we reach the mansions pre- 
pared for us, our vision will be clearer; for we shall 
then be more conformed to His glorious character, 
and consequently we can then see Him as He is. 

This is the real bliss of Heaven. This is the mag- 
nificent ending of the conflict of ages ; and at this point 
we must be content to wait until the clouds have lifted 
and our eyes shall see the King in His beauty. We 
may, however, even now ask 

How seems the future life to our dull eyes? 

Will it turn out to be a sad surprise? 

Or will it rise above the dreams we’ve had 
Of lands where souls are all with glory clad? 

We only know and prophesy in part, 

But when we think and measure by the heart. 

Life must be social on the other side 
Of death, in homes where all true souls abide. 

And what if this small earth on which we live 
Should to all other stars and planets give 
The population they must yet receive! 

Could we just now so great a truth believe? 

We stumble at the thought; for we are bound 
With cords which tie us to this earthly ground, 

And hold us in our prison-house of clay, 

With eyes shut out from light of endless day. 

But through the rifts of clouds which hang above, 

We catch a glimpse of that transcendent love, 


318 SUPREMACY OF THE HEART LIFE 

Which penetrates the realms of boundless space, 
Preparing homes for all the human race. 

And thus the brotherhood of man will be 
A fact assured throughout eternity, 

While through the universe one song we’ll sing, 

And this will make the heav’nly arches ring; 

A song which tells redemption’s wond’rous plan, 

And sings aloud of universal man. 


THE END 







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